Awakening: A Life As We Know It Novel
by JaceNewmore
Summary: Everyone's senior year is hard - but Max never expected it to be hell. School in flames? Attacked? Kidnapping? Even death? Max finds herself pulled into sticky situation after sticky situation. Will she survive? WARNING: character death. FAX!
1. Starting Now

**Summary: Max is popular. Fang is a bad boy. It's a game of cat and mouse. But what's in store for them?**

**Enjoy (:**

**Chapter 1 - Starting Now**

I walked down the halls, my blonde hair swaying behind my head in a halo of goodness. But was I ever actually good? Sometimes, even my mother doubted it.

Being the first week of school, I was taught to strut my stuff every time I had the chance. I had gone shopping with Angel and Nudge last weekend and bought a ton of clothes. Which I was wearing right now; a periwinkle blue coloured crop top that showed my mid drift and short cut of jeans. To top it off, I paired it with purple strap heels and a colourful flower ring.

After our clothes, we got our hair done. I got mine dyed underneath with a burgundy red, and then a thick streak of blonde near my side bangs. Altogether, I looked pretty damn awesome. And I had some ass to kick.

"_SAM!_" I screamed through the halls. Every one stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at me. Even Sam, when I eventually spotted him. I waltzed up to him, my hips swaying like I knew they would, and bitch slapped him across the face. Everyone gasped. I heard a quiet chuckle and grinned. At least I was entertaining someone.

"What's your problem?" Sam asked, his voice cracking at the end.

"_You're _my problem. I found out about that little slut Lissa. Starting now, you no longer come anywhere near me. You don't sit next to me in class, you don't sit next to me at lunch. Starting now, you don't have _anything _to do with me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly." Sam said hoarsely. He turned around stiffly and walked away, leaving everyone looking at me like I was crazy. Sam and I were the closest and couple in school. Everyone who needed advice came to us, and everyone loved us. It wasn't because of what we were or what we looked like that made us popular. It was who we were _together_ that made us popular.

"What are you looking at? Go!" I said, locking eyes with a dark haired boy in my class. He hesitated before walking away like the rest of the school.

I walked to my class, sitting at my seat in the back of the room. Pulling my camera out of my handbag, I flickered through all the photo's of Sam and I. In some of them, his chestnut hair and tortoise shell coloured eyes were glinting in the sun as he looked off in the distance, and in others, he's got his sexy smirk and beautiful smile going. Then, purely by accident, I found some pictures of me I had never seen before. They were beautiful. Like figures of my body, all black, with the setting sun in the back ground.

I breathed in deeply, wondering whether I had done the right thing or not. _He was with Lissa, Max. Of course he was the one who did wrong._ I sighed, rubbing my head with my hand. Definitely PMS-y today.

I flickered through the photos again, debating in my head whether to delete them or not. It got the the point where I clicked the delete button on one of them. I quickly cancelled and sighed, staring at the picture I was about to delete. Sam and I laughing at something.

In the reflection of the camera, I saw someone looking down over my shoulder. _Stalker, much?_

"I know you're there." I said, shutting the camera down.

"You do photography?" a deep voice asked. I got out of my seat, turning so I was sitting on the desk, and put the camera back in my bag.

The dark haired boy who I had seen earlier was leaning on the table opposite me. He had deep black eyes, almost onyx, and shaggy black hair that tinted dark brown in the sunlight that was streaming through the windows. He had fairly toned muscles that bulged from his black polo shirt. I could smell the cigarette smoke from his clothes, slightly covered by his sexy smelling aftershave. _So, _I thought, _he was one of the bad boys._

"The name's Fang," _Fang _simply said, giving me a look over. I suddenly felt self conscious about my navel piercing. It was plain ruby with a dangling wolf. He looked up into my eyes, a seductive smirk on his face. He raised his eyebrow and that said it all. "And I believe you're Maximum Ride."

Instead of looking small and vulnerable like I was feeling, I put a look of indifference on my face and played along. "And _I _believe your name is actually Nick."

Fang's eyes narrowed, but the smirk on his face deepened. "Please, call me Fang."

"I'll try to remember, Nick." I replied, earning a glare I gladly returned. As everyone else came in, they hushed at the staring contest between Fang and I.

"It was nice talking to you, Maximum Ride." Fang said, a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Turning around and falling back into my seat, Sam gingerly walked into the room. His gaze met mine and he sat on the opposite side of the room, obviously avoiding me. The teacher walked in, and the teaching begun.

By third session, the voices talking about Sam and I couldn't be ignored.

"Do you really think he cheated on her?" "What if he had sex with Lissa?" "Do you reckon Lissa's pregnant?"

And then it got out of hand with the last comment; "Maybe Sam wanted more then one turn on the horsey." And I bet you could guess whose voice said it. If you guessed Fang, surprise surprise, your'e right.

Sam shoved his chair back and stalked from the classroom, leaving everyone in shock. Sam hardly ever snapped. When he did, though, it was for a good reason.

I got up and gave Fang my best death stare before walking after Sam. When I finally reached him, he was haunched over on the lunch field.

"Hey," I said, sitting down softly next to him. He didn't say anything for a while, and we sat in silence for about a minute. "You going to talk to me?"

"What's the point?" He replied, looking me in the eyes. "You already publicly disowned me."

"Obviously something ticked you off. I should have come to you first before I did that."

"But you didn't, did you?" Sam sighed, rubbing his head. "It's not true, what they're saying. I didn't have sex with her, and she's definitely not pregnant. I was drunk and she kissed me and I kissed her back. That was all that happened."

"What's up with you being at her party in the first place?"

"I don't know."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, hugging Sam. He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me back. "You know I'm here for you."

"Yeah, I know. But... Max, you've gone to far this time."

"Let me make it up to you, please?"

"Max..."

"Please?"

"Fine, fine, but... next time this happens, please come and talk to me first."

"And next time you go to her party, invite me. So the next time you get drunk, you're kissing me instead of her." I laughed, giving Sam a quick peck on the lips. I could feel his smirk and stood up, pulling him up with me. "How can I make it up to you?"

"Party at my place tonight. Invite everyone you can think of. Even Lissa. And then in front of everyone," He whispered, taking my hand in his and pulling me against him. "Say sorry and kiss me."

My eyes narrowed, but I smiled and put my lips an inch from his. "I have a better idea. At lunch today. In front of the whole _school _I will kiss you and say sorry. And then announce the party tonight."

"Sounds like a plan." He whispered back and kissed me, running his hands gently through my hair. "Let's get back to class."

The bell rung signifying it was lunch. There were only 4 sessions a day, and between session 3 and 4 was lunch. I smiled up at Sam, and we walked hand in hand to the cafeteria, ignoring the looks we got.

When everyone was settled and eating or talking, I walked up to the teachers area with Sam. I found Fang in the crowd and raised an eyebrow quickly. He glared at me, but a smirk appeared on his face. I coughed loudly and waited for the room to be silent.

"I know a lot of you saw what happened this morning," I started, dragging everyone's attention to Sam and I. "I publicly disowned him without his side of the story. And I was wrong. So I'm apologising to anyone who saw what happened."

And then without further adieu, I latched my lips on Sam's. A round of applause started in the cafeteria and it got louder and louder. I broke away from him with a grin on my face, and turned back to the people. "Party at Sam's tonight!"

That's when people started whooping.


	2. Factory Girl

**I'm so happy with the amount of e-mails I got! 21! And I had only put it up 10 hours before! Thanks so much. Please keep reviewing. It makes me so happy :D**

**By the way, if anyone can figure out from now on what the chapters are named from, review and tell me (hint - they're song names that relate to the particular chapter). And also, the school has just started its fourth semester, which means it's sometime in March. (4 terms in a school year)**

**Disclaimer..**

**Chapter 2 - Factory Girl**

"Party?"

"At Sam's?"

"Without his parents?"

"And almost the whole school there?"

"This," both Angel and Nudge screamed, "calls for a makeover!"

I mentally groaned and tried to escape, failing pathetically. _Help, _I thought to the God's above.

When they were done, they showed me to a mirror. And I gasped out loud, because I didn't recognise the person looking back at me. I was wearing a strapless grey dress with a rosette buckle dress around the torso. For shoes, I had black, biker stilettos boots. My makeup was simply a sparkly burgundy red eyeshadow, and clear lip gloss. I was wearing a top hat over my wavy hair, and a bracelet cuff. **(A/N – Outfit link on profile)**

"Oh my God!" I laughed, turning around to inspect the back. You could see my dark blue bra straps, but it was sexy in a fun kind of way. "Where did you guys learn to do this?"

"What else are we supposed to do on sleepovers? Normally when you're asleep we go crazy, but it's fun. Unless you feel what we're doing and let us do it anyway," Nudge said frowning. "You don't feel us doing it do you? 'Cause that would be kind of weird..."

I glared at Nudge until she trailed off. "You _practice _on me while I'm _asleep?_"

"Well, when you put it that way..." Ella said, a guilty look in her eyes.

"If I weren't wearing 3 inch heels and a dress at the moment," I snarled, but smirked shortly after. "Though, I guess I could practice."

"See you there!" They yelled before sprinting off.

I smiled at myself and grabbed my car keys of the desk. I put them in the small handbag with my phone and iPod, and walked outside to jump into my green Holden HSV Maloo. Driving to Sam's place was a bit of a hassle. We went to the same school, but he lived off the motorway, and it took around 30 minutes to get there if I wasn't speeding.

Deciding to take a risk, I rolled the windows down and cranked the music up. With `The Pretty Reckless` blaring in my ears, I got up to speeds of 150 before turning off the motor way, and slowing down _somewhat_.

When I arrived at Sam's, his mansion of a house loomed at me. It was a typical Malibu home on the rocks. The sun had already started to set, and it wasn't even 6 yet.

I hopped out and was greeted by a blast of music. Looks like I missed the start of the party. I shrugged to myself and walked along the brick path way to the house.

There was an archway that led to the door, and it was covered in thriving green vines. Walking up to the dark brown door, I gripped the curved iron handle and pushed the door open. What was once the living room was now the main room. The furniture was pushed back against the walls and the bar was set up to be a DJ booth.

"Max is here!" I heard somebody yell above the music. Heads turned towards me and a couple of wolf whistles travelled in my direction. I smiled and went straight to the drink section.

I'm not sure about you guys, but when Sam and I are involved in a party, about 150 people show up, and it's usually just juniors and seniors. That also means a lot of drinks. Which means alcohol.

I took a shot from one of the trays and brought it to my lips. Across the room, my eyes met Fang's. He had some girl dancing on his side, but he didn't seem particularly interested about her. His gaze was fixated on mine, and I hesitated before shooting the glass back.

**-Line-**

"Sammy, baby!" I yelled over the music. The stars were shining brightly into my eyes. Wait... maybe they were the lights. I didn't particularly care either way, because I wasn't drunk. Too much music had gone through my head. I saw Sam and bounced over to him, wobbling slightly on my heels. "Some guys want a drag race. Should I say yes?"

"You're not drunk are you?" He laughed, slamming his lips on mine. I kissed him back and pulled away, looking into his tortoise shell eyes.

"Not in the slightest. I've had one shot, that's it."

"Show 'em whose boss baby," He whispered, grabbing a lock of my wavy hair and pushing it behind my ear. "And when you win, meet me in my bedroom."

"You know I will." I answered, kissing his cheek and looking behind him to see Fang. "What do you want?"

"You're doing the drifting, I want to see what you're capable of."

"It's usually Sam in the seat next to me," I replied, looking at Sam to see what his reaction was. "Sam?"

"No, no, it's ok. I'm too drunk." He laughed, looking at Fang. Directing the first two sentences to Fang, he said "I hope you brought a change of clothes, mate. You're going to need them. Be safe, sexy."

Fang raised an eyebrow, but started towards the door where Tayte was. He was the guy who had challenged me.

"Hope you know what you're doing, Maxi," Fang said as he hopped into my car. "This is a big car you're handling."

"Don't worry. And don't call me Maxi."

The track was set up perfectly. There was an abandoned airfield behind Sam's place, making it the perfect drifting zone with little amount of people. In the middle of the field, there was an empty container that just fit the top of my car in, meaning I could drift my whole car underneath it. We were going to do one lap of the runway, and then on our second, we were going to drift around the container two times and back to the start where we finished.

We weren't going to do a normal drift race. We went by ourselves and had people time us, and then we compared the time. We weren't stupid enough to actually do a drift _race._

Once we were at the line, with on lookers on the balcony of Sam's place, and a few at the very back of the track, it started. Tayte had the honours of going first because it was his idea to start with. I got out and leaned against my car, my arms crossed in front of my chest, and my eyes narrowed as I watched how this eejit drifted.

It seemed though as soon as he started, he finished.

I got into my car, Fang hopping in beside me. I didn't even realise he had gotten out.

"Make me proud, Max!" I heard Sam yell and smiled to myself. I revved the engine and waited for the flag girl.

"I will."

The buzzer sounded and my foot slipped off of the brake, shooting the car forward. It wasn't long before we were doing 100 km/hr, and Fang was already gripping the 'oh _shit' _handle above the window.

"Slow down!" I heard him mutter and laughed like a maniac. We weren't even half way. I poured on more speed until we were about 300 metres away from the cliff. Did I just say cliff? Ha-ha, funny thing... let's hope I just don't go over the edge. I slammed on the brake heavily, and flicked the steering wheel right. A kind of shock wave passed through the car as it performed the task I was asking of it. It started the tail drift, and I steered into the turn. That's when Fang started screaming, "Holy fucking shit!"

_Shit, shit, shit, shit! Too close to the fucking edge! _I heard a scrape along the back of the car and knew I had hit the railing. That was going to leave a mark. I dipped the clutch and brought it up quickly as the back wheels lost traction, and faced the house again as I gently edged the wheel back to its original position, gaining more control.

"Shit she's got a fat ass!" Fang yelled, and I chuckled, knowing he heard it.

I gained speed again and was halfway down the track before I remembered I took my number plates off. If there was a car chase with the cops, no way in _hell _were they getting my number plates.

Doing the same trick as the first turn, I flicked the steering wheel right and dipped the clutch and I was soon doing 100 again towards the container. I snuck a look out of the corner of my eye and saw Fang, wide eyed and scared shitless. After doing the drifting around the container, I was speeding beck towards Sam's place.

Deciding to freak Fang out even more, I didn't hit the brakes until we were 400 metres away from the finish line. I could hear him screaming in my ear, but locked my jaw and concentrated on what I was about to do. I slammed my foot down on the brakes and turned the wheel to the left, spinning the car. I dipped the clutch so the back wheels locked and skidded to a stop in my starting position.

At first, Fang was silent, sitting in his seat unmoving. He looked at me and just like that, I burst out laughing. I got out of the car and kneeled over, clutching my stomach. Some kid came over and told me I had beaten Tayte's time by 5 seconds, once I had calmed down. An easy margin, one could say.

I saw Fang get out of the car and smiled over at him. "Need a drink?"

**-Line-**

I had not been as anxious as I was now, since the moment I told Sam I liked him.

"Stay here," Sam whispered in my ears, sending shivers down my body. I stayed on his bed, sipping my third glass of champagne as he turned the lights off and left me in the room.

When he came back in, I could tell something was off. He smelt... _different, _somehow. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it wasn't, but I was too drunk to care.

He made his way over to me and his hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me off the bed. I pressed my body against his, and didn't even notice the height difference or how different he felt.

His lips reached down to mine, and as he kissed me, I kissed him back, my hands at the back of his neck. His hands were still on my waist, but one of them slipped up to the zipper on the back of my dress. He pushed me back onto the bed, gently laying himself on top of my body.

He had just about gotten the dress off me when I realised all of the things I had been missing. I abruptly ended the kiss, kicking the 'mystery person' off me. I heard him curse and pulled my dress up to cover my bra. I was holding it with one hand while I turned the lights on with the other.

"_Fang?" _I screamed, seeing him flinch while still holding his stomach. I screamed in frustration, looking Fang dead in the eye. "Where is Sam?"

"Some where making out with Lissa," He muttered, a smirk forming on his face. "Can't believe that I almost got into your pants."

I screamed again in frustration and found Sam passed out in the spare room. At least he wasn't playing tonsil hockey with Lissa.

Tomorrow, I was going to have the worst headache.


	3. Careful

**READ ME! I HAVE IMPORTANT INFORMATION!**

**Ahh! This is the first time I've finished two chapters in one day! * bows to rounds of applause * I'll need 15 reviews to upload the next chapter :P  
**

**Read on, fellow munchkins. Also, first one to guess how the chapter title relates to a special mention in here gets a mention in the next chapter!**

**Oh, and to clear up some what, here are the ages. They're all in the same grade, but Gazzy goes to a different school.  
**

**Max: 18**

**Fang: 18**

**Iggy: 18 (9 months older than Max)**

**Nudge: 17**

**Gasman: 17**

**Angel:17**

**Sam: 18**

**Disclaimer.. (also for POTC too, because I stole and Jack and Elizabeth moment..)**

**Chapter 3 - Careful**

That weekend was the shittiest weekend. Ever. I spent the days barfing my guts up, and the nights having restless nightmares. I will never, and I repeat, _never _get that drunk again. Or get food poisoning the day after. Not a smart idea.

I woke up, and looked at the clock before running to the bathroom and barfing again. I shouldn't be this sick. I heard my brother, Igneous – named after a rock, I know, there shall be more on that later - , come in and get the hair out of my face. I groaned and collapsed on the floor, letting Ig flush the toilet for me.

"It's 6 in the morning, Max, you need to stop doing this." Ig said, pulling me into his lap. Nothing like brotherly love.

"Stupid food poisoning." I replied, and stayed still for about 20 minutes until Iggy got restless.

"Come on, up you get. You're coming to school today. Can't ruin your perfect record, ay?"

I groaned again and pulled myself up off of Ig's lap. He ventured into my closet and pulled out something appropriate **(A/N – outfit on profile) **and made me change into it before walking into his room to get dressed. While he was changing, I packed my bag with books and needed things, and made my way down to the kitchen, plopping heavily on one of the stools.

I must have drifted asleep because the next thing I know, a plate full of bacon, scrambled eggs and toast was shoved under my nose. My eyes snapped open and I saw Ig half smiling as he held the plate for me. "Eat."

I mumbled something unintelligible and ate away, shoving it all down my throat. By the time I was finished, I felt somewhat better. Iggy grabbed some nurofen from the cupboard and pushed me a glass of milk to help swallow the tablets down. I thanked him and grabbed my keys off the table, tossing them in his general direction.

We drove to school, listening to Paramore – my choice, that's right –, getting there around half an hour early, and just wondered the halls of the school. I came to a stop at one of the notice boards that had different flyers on them.

"Hey, Ig, come have a look at this!" I called, and waited until he had made his way over to where I was standing. "There's a notice for a musical play. You should so try out."

Iggy, who could sing like there was no tomorrow, smiled down at me before reading the flyer aloud, in a superior accent. "'Senior students have been learning about America's fearsome history. In a musical play that will bring the school together, venture into the story of 'Pocahuntas'. Sign up sheets are below, and don't forget – auditions are Monday the 15th of March.' That's today," He said, now in his own voice. "I'm signing up."

Iggy smiled at me, and wrote his full name, and then, much to my surprise, wrote my name under it. "But, Ig-"

"Don't you dare tell me you can't sing, because I know you can." He plucked a song sheet off from underneath the flyer and handed it to me, also getting one for himself. "You will learn this song, and you will learn the lines."

**-Line-**

"Max!" Nudge squealed, almost popping my eardrum in the process. "I can't believe you signed up! That is so cool! I signed up too, and so did Angel, but I don't know if we'll get the parts because I've never sung in front of anyone before. Have you? Do you realise that Fang has signed up-"

"_What?" _I screeched, shutting Nudge up. The people at the lunch table we were sitting at turned to stare at me, and Sam, having over heard our conversation, rubbed my back.

"It's ok, babe, I'm signing up as well."

I stared at Sam and shook my head, looking at Nudge, Angel, and then across the room at Fang who had stopped to stare at me. "Why do people not tell me these things? I never knew you guys could sing!"

"You never asked." Angel said, slightly amused. Iggy laughed, causing me to stare at him.

"Shut up, _Igneous," _I snarled, getting out of my seat. "Don't go there."

"Touche." I heard him say, and walked of with the song lyrics in my hand.

**-Line-**

After enduring what seemed like hours of hearing idiotic people sing – minus Iggy, Nudge, Angel and Sam who sung like rockstars -, the next name that was called caught my attention. Of course, it had to be mine.

"Maximum Ride?"

"Here," I called, standing up and walking to the stage steadily. When I was in the centre, I looked at the director. "I'll be singing 'Colours of the Wind'"

She looked bored, tapping her feet and twiddling her pencil. "Take it away."

I cleared my throat and smiled, getting the lyrics into my head.

Y_ou think I'm an ignorant savage  
And you've been so many places  
I guess it must be so  
But still I cannot see  
If the savage one is me  
How can there be so much that you don't know?  
You don't know..._

I walked slowly to the front of the stage, almost loosing my composure at the sight of the director snapping to attention at my voice (her eye started twitching, but I gained control before I could laugh). I raised an eyebrow quickly at her before continuing.

_You think you own whatever land you land on  
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim  
But I know every rock and tree and creature  
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name_

I paced the stage, pointing to the distance, and leaning down to the ground to move the make-believe rocks.

_You think the only people who are people  
Are the people who look and think like you  
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger  
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew_

I locked eyes with Fang for a second, who was in the crowd, and walked in untraceable lines on the stage.

_Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon  
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?  
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?_

I spread my arms wide, and raised my face to the roof.

_Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest  
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth  
Come roll in all the riches all around you  
And for once, never wonder what they're worth_

I ran the length of the stage in small footsteps, and smiled a full-blown smile.

_The rainstorm and the river are my brothers  
The heron and the otter are my friends  
And we are all connected to each other  
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends  
_

I ran off the stage over to Nudge and Angel, pulling them up and spinning in a circle with them before I stood on a chair, one foot on a seat, the other on the head rest.

_How high will the sycamore grow?  
If you cut it down, then you'll never know  
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon  
For whether we are white or copper skinned  
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains  
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind  
You can own the Earth and still  
All you'll own is Earth until  
You can paint with all the colors of the wind_

I ended by pulling Sam up and putting my head on his. He was smiling a huge smile, and wrapped his arms around me before the hall burst into applause. I smiled and kissed Sam, falling back onto the seat.

"Fantastic work, Maximum." a proud Director said, smiling and clapping. "Next we have... Nicholas Castle."

Fang smiled, hopping up to the stage as he told Director he was singing 'If I Never Knew You'

He had his own guitar with him, and started off with a couple gentle strings while sitting down.

_If I never knew you  
If I never felt this love  
I would have no inkling of  
How precious life can be  
And if I never held you  
I would never have a clue  
How at last I'd find in you  
The missing part of me  
In this world so full of fear  
Full of rage and lies  
I can see the truth so clear  
In your eyes  
So dry your eyes  
And I'm so grateful to you  
I'd have lived my whole life through  
Lost forever  
If I never knew you_

He stopped, and Director had her mouth hanging open while everyone applauded for him. "My, my. We have such talented people."

"You are all to go home now. The sheets will be up when you get to school tomorrow."

I sighed, standing up with the rest of the auditorium. "Sam, I need to go to the bathroom. Don't wait for me, I'll get Iggy to drive me home."

"Ok, sweetheart. Talk to you tonight." He kissed me before disappearing with the rest of the Jocks.

"Iggy!" I called, catching his attention before he left. "Wait in the car for me!" I tossed him my keys before jogging to the bath room.

Once I was finished, I washed my hands and walked out, only to find Fang waiting for me.

"What do you want?" I asked, walking straight to the car park. He stopped me though, and cornered me against a pillar.

"Friday night." He smirked, sending shivers down my body. I blushed, and his smirk deepened. "You liked it. Admit it."

"I thought you were Sam."

"You knew it was me, don't lie to yourself."

"Why?"

"Because one day," Fang muttered, edging closer to me. "You're going to fall for me.

"I'm not going to fall for you. Why should I?" I laughed, shaking my head incredulously. Everyone had vanished from the hall to go home, so it left only Fang and I.

"One word, love," Fang said, pushing me back against a wall when I tried to escape. "Curiosity. You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do because you want it. To act on selfish impulse. You want to see what it's like. One day, you won't be able to resist."

Fang's body was against mine, and his lips were an inch from mine. Every nerve in my body was on high alert. I was almost convinced. Key word being _almost._

"Why doesn't your watch work?" I asked, looking at the ticking hands. I had to stall.

"My watch works just fine." He replied, almost hesitating.

"You're right. There will be a moment I might fall for you. And there will come a moment when you have a chance to show me you're worth it. To do the right thing."

"I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by."

I ignored him, continuing on like he hadn't said a word. I pushed forward against him, inching closer. This was going to be fun.

"You'll have the chance to do something – something courageous," I whispered, making sure that he was looking between my lips and eyes. "And when you do, you'll discover something. That you're a good man."

"All evidence to the contrary." Fang replied, moving away. I followed him, managing to corner him.

"Well, I have faith in you." I took it as my cue to continue when he hesitated. "Want to know why?"

"Do tell, sweety." He replied, moving my hair back from my face. He seemed obsessed with my lips.

"Curiosity." I said, smiling. Turning it around on him, he realised why it seemed almost impossible to resist. "You're going to want it. A chance to be admired. And gain the rewards that follow. You won't be able to resist. You're going to want to know what it tastes like."

And then, taking me by complete surprise, he spun me around so my back was to the wall once more and covered my lips with his. Instead of stopping him like I know I should have, I let him kiss me. And I kissed him back, like the 'good' girl I was. I put my hand on the back of his neck, keeping his lips on mine while one of his hands was on the locker, and the other was on the small of my back, keeping my body against his.

When I realised what I was actually doing - frenching with _Fang_, of all people (AGAIN) - I shoved him way from me, putting the back of my hand against my lips. Fang smiled, a real, genuine smile, and said, "Now, I do know what it tastes like."

I tucked my hand into my pocket quickly, trying to stop Fang from seeing that I was shaking. Knowing Fang, though, he saw everything. I breathed out as Iggy called my name, and glared at Fang. "But seeing as your a good man, I know you would never put me in a position that would compromise me."

"Maybe I would."

"Bite me." I hissed, moving away from him towards my car. And, hopefully, Iggy, so this douche would leave me alone. This hot, sexy do– wait. I didn't say that.

"Really?" I heard him laugh. I shot him a glare over my shoulder and ran the rest of the way to my car. When I got in, Iggy was looking at me strangely.

"Just drive." I muttered, closing my eyes. I just wanted to dig a hole and stick my head in it for a while.


	4. Who Am I Living For?

**A/N – Hey there peeps :L**

**This story needs a reality check. We see a side of Fang we haven't before. Nothing can just go * according to plan *. If it's any consolation though, I've finished 7 chapters so far. So, you know, the more you review, the quicker you get more story. Just saying.**

**I'm changing this chapter up a bit, its a bit OOC, and a bit... filler-ish, but it isn't meant to be. There's a purpose behind this, maybe you can fill me in when you REVIEW. Please?**

**Since no one bothered answering my previous questions, the answers were Factory Girl by The Pretty Reckless for Ch2 and Careful by Paramore for Ch3.**

**This one is Who Am I Living For by Katy Perry. And yes, the chapter names do relate to the chapter some what.**

**Fly on,**

**Jace ;)**

**(Disclaimer)**

**Chapter 4 – Who Am I Living For?**

"Ugnh," I moaned, rolling back onto the cool school tile floor. My brown tank top had ridden up, revealing my mid-drift.

I didn't throw up this morning. No, instead I found out _Fang _would play John and I would play Pocahuntas. Just great. Iggy was playing Ratcliffe, Sam was playing Kocoum, Nudge was Grandmother Willow, while Angel was Nakoma. There were others, but I couldn't remember their names in this state.

"Max?" Iggy called. He had the nerve to walk into the ladies room. What a nice big bro I have (note non-sarcasm). Probably saved Sam from seeing me looking this bad. "You ok?"

"Just peachy," I replied sarcastically. I heard Ig swallow a chuckle and smiled. "Water please?"

"In coming." He whistled and I sat up before catching the bottle with one hand.

"Thanks." I groaned, pulling myself up from the bathroom floor.

"Come on, Max," Angel said. "We can't be late for rehearsals."

"I know, I know." I muttered, pulling my tank down. I was wearing a simple cropped sweater and white skinny jeans **(A/N – Outfit on profile.)**. "Can't avoid fate."

I heard Iggy and Angel laugh before they left the bathroom. I walked towards the mirror and looked at my pale figure. Normally, I was a healthy, glowy, tanned colour. Now I was just pale and shaking, with my hair loose around my face. Splashing some cold water on my face before exiting the bathroom, the girls, Iggy and myself made our way down to the auditorium.

As soon as we were seated, I realised I was sitting next to Iggy and Sam, and the girls in front of me. I leaned on Sam as he put his arm around me, and my eyes drifted shut just as the director started talking.

"You are all here because you have amazing acting and singing skills. I would like to thank you all for coming yesterday. I will be handing out the scripts. I want you to learn your lines and practice with someone. Max, Nicholas, could I see you for a moment please?"

Sam nudged me and I looked up at him. "Go on."

I groaned and stood up, swaying slightly on my heels before making my to the director. Fang made his way very slowly, and I ran a shaky hand through my hair as he looked at me strangely.

"I have to have your consent for the following information." I frowned, but the director hurried on when she saw my face. She was a plum women, with scraggly grey hair and moss green eyes. "Knowing the script, John Smith and Pocahuntas kiss two times. I wanted your permission, and I want you guys to think on it. Here are your scripts."

I sighed, taking the script from her and glared at Fang. In my condition though, it only came across as a look. Before I could stand, the director turned back.

"Nicholas, take Max out to get some air. She's not looking well. While you're out there, I want you to practice your parts in scene two. Go, now."

I scrunched my eyes shut and ran a shaky hand over my head. I felt Fang's grip under my elbow as he directed me towards the hallways of the school. "Come on, princess." I moaned, sliding down one of the walls and put my head between my legs. Fang's hand gently moved the hair off the back of my neck, allowing the breeze to roll against my skin.

We were in silence for about 3 minutes before I heard Fang slide down the wall to sit next to me. "Why do you smoke?"

Fang hesitated, shooting me a glance as I laid my head back on the wall. "I don't. It's just the guys I hang around with."

"Right. And why do you hang out with them?"

"Because no one else bothers with the silent kid." Fang sighed, running a hand through his hand.

I paused, measuring out my next question. "Then why are you so silent?"

Fang's lips pursed. "Some things don't need to be commented on, others probably don't want to hear about my problems."

"What problems?" I asked, genuinely worried now. Fang gave me a look, and then lifted his shirt up, showing me whip marks. I sucked breath into my lungs, loud enough to be heard. His 8-pack was coated with small scratches, about 10. I gently moved my fingers to one scratch, but before I could feel it, Fang's vice-like grip caught my wrist. My eyes shot up to Fang's whose were focused on mine. Studying Fang more closely now, I noticed the lip ring to the side of his mouth and the diamond ring on his left ear. His eyes, which seemed endless, showed the first bit of emotion I'd seen from him. Fear. "I'm – not going to hurt you, Fang."

My body was half turned, so that he had grip of my left hand when he was on my right side. He could have easily thrown me to the ground, but he didn't. Instead, he let go and let me study his scratches. He shivered, and I looked up at him again as a tint of pink coloured his face. "You're fingers are cold."

I smirked and moved away, studying the script now.

"Last Friday night," Fang started, so low that only I could hear. "I thought you were someone else. I'm sorry I frightened you."

I was stunned. My eyes widened as I looked at Fang who was actually being sincere. "If that's true, then why did you make that comment?"

"What comment?"

"The, `can't believe I almost got into your pants` comment."

"I was... stunned. I didn't expect you to be the person I was kissing. I just turned to humour out of habit."

_Why is it that I believe him? _I thought, looking at Fang long enough to see that he wasn't lying. "And yesterday?"

"I guess that's the group rubbing off on me. Don't worry. I don't intend to bite you anytime soon." Fang smirked, and I playfully slapped him. "Thank-you."

I raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"For actually listening to me."

"I do that a lot. If you ever need to talk, I'm here."

Fang smiled, a really good smile. It lit up his face, and for the first time in a really long time, I got butterflies in my stomach.

**-Line-**

Iggy and I made our way home in his Chevrolet Camaro convertible. It was a silver grey, almost a metallic white.

Mum, Anne, and dad, Paul, had adopted me when I was young. I don't know my real parents, yet, but I want to meet them some day. My adoptive parents

Our house was different then the rest of the towns. It was small, yet spacious and comfortable.

The front of our house was surrounded by greenery. Palm trees to the sides, and a pathway lined with red and white roses and gardenias. It led to the front door of our house. The front door was an expensive dark oak wood, with a peep hole and a stainless glass window at the top. It was painted with a light pinks, baby blues and delicate greens. On either side of the door were enlarged versions of the doors glass window.

Inside the house, the floors were porcelain tiles with colours of white, peach and light brown.

The hallway from the door led to the dark brown feature wall with my professional photography in frames. Along the hallway was a brown marble wall runner with pictures of our family; Mum, Iggy, Dad, myself, and the pets, Chevy and Bubz.

To the left was an open spare room with sliding & folding doors. On either side were heavy white curtains. When you came to the feature wall, you could turn left or right. Turning right led you the the garage which had the capacity to hold two cars, and then the spare room's bathroom, which had the basic features.

If you turned left at the feature wall, the hallway faced you to another wall runner, this time with medals and awards for Iggy and myself. Along that same wall were three shelves that held souvenirs from our over seas trips. When you walked to the second wall runner, you could only turn right. Part of the feature wall jutted out to make it look like a horizontal L. If you want to get technical, you turn the L 90˚ clockwise and then reflect it, so it's an opposite.

Behind the jutted part of the L were the stairs and a little cabinet for utilities and simple needs like a shotgun. Joking, joking. Just necessities light a flash light or keys for the car, as Iggy and I both had our drivers license.

The living room and kitchen were connected, with the TV on the same wall as the wall runner. A bench for glasses, books and magazines was in front of it, and there were three different couches that could hold six altogether in front of the bench.

The dinner table was white marble, a shiny and enticing white – it showed the white parts of the tiles off perfectly, where as the wall reflected the same light brown colour as the tiles – and the kitchen was set up exactly how Iggy liked it. Iggy could cook. It was really, really good too. There was an island in the middle, made of black and white marble splashed together. It held the drawers for the cutlery and crockery and place mats.

There were stoves, hot plates, ovens and microwaves on a wall bench, closest to the stairs, as the one furthest was actually a passage way to the laundry and garden.

Anne and Paul had gone on a vacation and that left just Iggy, myself, Chevy and Bubz. Bubz was a dark rabbit with a white stripe down the middle of his nose. Chevy was a Belgian Terurven and his coat was a pale colour with black overlay, a black mask, and a small patch of white on the chest, as well as white tips on toes.

When I got home, I went straight to my room and collapsed on my bed, welcoming a restless sleep any day over my sick stomach.

The last thought that ran through my head was, _Why do I feel like people are smothering me? Why can't I be who I want to be without raising questions?_


	5. And Then We Dance

**I'm on vacation but I'm still writing for you guys. That is another chapter down! :D**

**I'm on fire. It's my birthday TODAY! :D I loved all my presents! :P**

**Anyways, on with the story.**

**Disclaimer for the characters, claimer for the story line :D**

**Oh, and for Bubz and Chevy, Max's pets.**

**And Then We Dance – Justice Crew**

**Chapter 5 – And Then We Dance**

I'm not sure whether I mentioned this before, but my part-time job and my hobby are two completely different things. I mean, yeah, they're both ways of excersising. But, still.

My part-time job was teaching swimming, and my hobby was dancing. Like, street dancing.

Dancing for me is a way to express myself. It's kind of a way to release emotion, whether it sad or happy. Dancing is also like escaping life. If something was really bugging me, I dance and think _only _of dance. Sometimes I enter myself into competitions, so I record what I'm doing. That way, when I find a good routine, I can practice it until it's flawless.

Normally, I'll practice dance, even if it's just for 30 minutes, before I hop into the pool. I do around 5 laps and then dry myself off as the kids get here. I teach kids between the age or 8 and 9. They all love me. I had at least half an hour of dancing left.

_Push, kick legs, drop, spin, flip up, robot arms, crazy legs. Repeat._

As I moved to the beat, sweat started dripping down my brow. I was wearing a work out bra and long sweat pants with one leg rolled up to the knee. My hair was in a messy pony tail at the top of my head and my side bangs were slick with sweat. I didn't wear my naval ring when I was swimming or dancing because it could easily get attached to something a rip.

I stopped and took a long swig of water.

I was in the open space in the gym room above the swimming centre. It was all indoors, and there were only about 4 people in the gym at the moment. I looked around before cranking the music up on my iPod. My eyes skipped pass Fang's. At first, I didn't even realise he was watching me. I didn't know he was there.

_Head, arms and legs, one hand flip, slide on legs, pump body, backwards cartwheel onto feet. Start from top._

I stopped again, breathing heavily, and took another swig of water.

"Never knew you could move like that," a voice behind me said, scaring the shit out of me.

"Fang!" I said, my hand flying to my heart. "You need to stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"Scaring me!"

I'm not sure whether it was because of Fang or dancing, but I would have thought my heart was going at least 150 beats per minute. I poured some water over my head, and looked at Fang as his eyes followed the water down my body. My face got hot, but that was covered by my already red cheeks. Dancing was hard work.

"Walk with me." I muttered, walking pass Fang towards the evacuation stairs. I had learned a while ago that the top of the gym had one of the best views over our small town.

I pushed on the door and bounced my way up the stairs. When I was on the roof, I made my way to the ledge I sat on all the time. I dangled my legs over the edge of the 4 story building and watched Fang as he took everything in. The butterflies in my stomach still hadn't settled.

"It's beautiful," He laughed, taking in the sparkling lights and setting sun. "How do you know about this place?"

"I come here every Saturday. Down at the pool, I teach the 8 to 9 year olds squads at 7.30 to 8. Sometimes I get bored at home and come here to practice my dancing for an hour or two."

Fang whistled, sitting down next to me. In reality, he wasn't that bad. He was just misunderstood. "You're good at it too. There're so many things I don't know about you."

"Ok, so lets play a game then. You ask a question and I'll have to reply honestly, and vice versa. You go first."

Giving me a look, Fang stared out at the stars. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Blue. Yours?"

"Black." He thought before asking another question. "What's your favourite number?"

"Six. Yours?"

"Two. Where'd you learn to drift?"

"My dad knows a guy who knows a guy. They introduced me to him when I was 16 and I had lessons until my birthday. Why aren't you... _you _around other people?"

Fang locked his jaw, but answered the question anyway. "People judged me when I was younger. I got into a lot of family fights because I said what I thought all the time. I learned from that and I don't talk all the time now. I don't want to be open because... I'm scared I'm going to be hurt." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Why did you forgive me so easily?"

"I believe everyone deserves a second chance." I smiled over at Fang, and when our eyes met, I felt I couldn't look away from them.

Just a deep endless whole in front of me. I found myself leaning towards him, and despite the warning bells that sounded off in my head, my lips connected with Fang's.

At first Fang didn't do anything, and it felt like kissing a stone wall. But then he responded and his warm hand cupped my cheek. I didn't ask for anything more then a kiss on the lips, so Fang gave me nothing but a kiss on the lips.

It was sweet. It was warm. It was caring. It was perfect. I broke away from Fang but didn't move away. Instead I ran my fingers down his lips and looked as deep as I could into his eyes.

And then the warning bells in my head sounded and I jumped up. My balance saved me as I stumbled over my words to find an excuse.

"I-I have to go to, uh, teach swimming or something." I muttered, and ran to the fire escape. I jumped down the fire escape and found that all of my swim class was already there, waiting for me.

"Hey, Max!" They yelled and that got a grin out of me. I waved to their parents and told them to jump in the pool.

"Sorry I'm late guys. I want you to start off with freestyle. Do 4 laps and then I want you to rest on the side of the pool. Jimmy, go. Anna, go. Kelly, go. Nathan, go. Olivia, go. Ian, go."

I watched as they all swam to the other end and decided to go easy on them today. "Remember, Olivia, elbows to the roof. Jimmy, keep your ass above the water."

After teaching, I slung my shoulder bag over my shoulder and started walking home. It wasn't exactly the smartest idea to be walking home at night with nothing more on then dancing clothes.

I picked my phone up and dialled a number I knew off by heart. The phone rung a couple of times before it got picked up.

"Hello, Doctor Martinez speaking, how my I help you?"

"Hey, Dr. M, it's me, Max."

"Hello there, Max. What can I do for you? Is there something wrong?"

"Yes. Well, no, not animal wise, but I wanted to ask for your advice."

"Sure, honey, anything."

"I'm dating a guy at school-"

"He hasn't done anything wrong to you has he?"

"Oh, no! No, Sam is the perfect boyfriend. But... I'm not sure whether I love him any more. See, I'm starting to get these feelings about another boy, but I'm not sure what to do."

"Well, what do you think you should do?"

"I'm not sure. I'm going to have a sleep over tonight with some friends and Sam actually. Maybe I could compare him and-"

"I don't think comparing is the best way, Max. Look, which one do you feel more comfortable with?"

"Sam, because I've known him for almost all of high school."

"Who do you want to spend more time with?"

"F-Nick."

"And who do you think understands you more?"

"S- wait. I don't know actually."

"Well, here's something for you to ponder over. Spend more time with the other boy, Nick, you say, but also spend the same amount of time with Sam. Just be yourself with them, and then decide who you want to spend more time with after that."

"Thanks, Dr. M."

"No problem, Max. Is there anything else I can do for you, sweety?"

"Yes, actually."

"And what's that?"

"My dog and rabbit are always play fighting. Is that normal?"

"If they've grown up with each other, then I suspect so."

"And Bubz has started growling. Is that normal too?"


	6. Harder Than You Know

**Thanks for reading guys. I'm so happy about the reviews :D**

**To be truthful, I've already got a second part running in my mind... maybe a sequel if you review enough.**

**I love criticism. Well, honestly, I hate it, but it makes my writing sharper, so criticise away... Don't worry, I won't come and kill you... hopefully.**

**Rest in peace to those who thought Fang was OOC in the last two chapters, I got it sorted. You'll find why in a few more chapters IF YOU REVIEW.**

**Oh, and the song is... kind of relevant. Escape the Fate – Harder Than You Know. Check it out, its really good.**

Disclaimer. (:

When I got home, the guys were already there and I could smell a delicious scent coming from the kitchen – Iggy was cooking again. Laughter rang from the lounge room and the T.V was blaring some unintelligible crap – it was a song, and a bad one at that. I walked in and threw my keys on the wall runner. I walked towards the feature wall, ready to turn left when a photo caught my attention.

It was a group photo with the five of us – Iggy, Sam, Nudge, Angel and myself. Being a whack job, Iggy had a large grin on his face, making his eyes huge and crinkles appear at the top of his head. His gaze was fixated on Nudge, who was sopping wet and glaring at Iggy, a slight smirk forming. Sam had his arms around my waist as we laughed together, wide smiles on our faces. Angel was on the floor, clutching at her sides because she was laughing so hard.

A sad grin spread across my face. Those were the times. Angel had just turned 15, and it was the 3 month anniversary for Sam and I. We had decided to celebrate by going to a park, and Iggy had thrown a water balloon at Nudge's frizzy hair, plastering it to her skull.

I walked the length of the feature wall and gazed around the corner at my friends. Nudge was hanging upside down on the couch, her legs over the top of the pillows. The blood had rushed to her face, but she was laughing hysterically. Angel was sitting on the floor next to Nudge, silently laughing, probably just as hard as Nudge. Sam was talking in the kitchen to Iggy, but they were grinning at the state of the giddy girls.

My eyes locked on Sam who still hadn't noticed me, and I fell back out of sight onto the feature wall, my head only just grazing a frame. Something was wrong. Ever since he'd taken me back, things seemed to be staged on my part. I felt like I was playing a script. Like someone had written my future for me. Part of me wanted to waltz in there and tell Sam that I'd just kissed Fang. I wanted him to break up with me. I couldn't do this anymore. I couldn't lie to myself, not like this. Not when the lie was staring at me everyday. I had loved Sam. But everything felt staged since that Friday night in the bedroom with Fang.

I thumped my head back against the wall and clenched my fists in frustration. My bag slid off my shoulder as I scrunched my eyes shut.

I knew it had been Fang. I knew, and I hadn't done anything to stop it. I was too damn busy trying to tell myself that I was still in love with Sam. Somehow, him kissing Lissa had just thrown me. Yes, he'd been drunk, but he was the most sensible guy I knew when it come to being drunk. When my situation happened, Fang had been drunk, I had been drunk. You can figure what I blamed the situation on.

But then the hallway incident after auditions, when Fang had cornered me and then kissed me, I kissed him back. I had literally thrown myself at him, and I got what had been coming. I wasn't drunk that time, and I couldn't blame it on being sick. That vanished halfway through the morning when I got some food into my system. And Sam could kiss, but that kiss left me vulnerable and Fang knew it.

And then Tuesday and now today... it was like a whole other person. A different person then the 'bad boy' Fang I had know through high school years. But, from talking to him, I knew better then to judge him. I acted–myself around him. Not having to watch what I said, or if I swore, or if I made impolite gestures, and I could only do that with two other guys; Iggy and Sam.

That wasn't the only thing. When I had kissed him and looked into his eyes, I felt a rush coarse through me. I felt refreshened. With Sam, I just felt really happy, but this was something different. Fang had a hold on me I couldn't quiet understand. Normally, I don't forgive that easily. Normally, I don't kiss guys I've only, figuratively speaking, just met. But this wasn't normal, so what I was on was a roller coaster in pitch black.

I felt a tear fall from my eye. Why did my life always have to be so fucking complicated?

"Max?" a quiet voice asked, my eyes snapping open to find Iggy standing there with a spatula in one hand and a hand towel in the other. His worried eyes looked down at me as the tear ran down my cheek, the others unshed. I shook my head quickly, the back of my hand sliding the tear from my face, urging Iggy to stay silent.

"I'm good, I need to have a shower. I'll be down soon." I rushed around the corner of the wall and hurried upstairs, avoiding Sam's eyes. Hurrying upstairs and closing myself in my room, I flopped on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Glow in the dark stars lined every inch, and I mesmerised every corner before heading to have a shower.

Having hot, smooth water run down my back had never been so relaxing. My body slumped. Fang had been so open. It wasn't normal. He had a hold on me, so if I made him spill, did I have some kind of hold on him as well? Was the feeling mutual? I doubted it at first, but something kept nudging me. Why was he so fucking open? Why did he trust me?

I switched the water off and grabbed my towel, hopping out of the shower. I stared at my figure in the mirror. What was wrong with me?

My eyes were a dark brown, flecked with gold around the pupil and fading darker around the edge of the iris. My hair, when it wasn't wet, was a light blonde, kind of the same tone as my skin colour. I used to be pasty, but the sun has changed most of the colour into a glowing cream. I had a body like a swimmer and dancer – toned with muscle, yet layered enough to make it kind of sexy. That was in Sam's opinion anyway.

Slipping my clothes on and combing my hair back from my face, I noticed two large bags underneath my eyes. I groaned, not bothered to put concealer on, and walked out of the adjoined bathroom. Oh, yes. I was the lucky one. I got the room with the bathroom while Iggy had to use my parents. I tell you, being a girl in those situations always bring joy.

I flopped onto the bed and stared at my grand piano, pushing to the corner opposite the door. My desk was on the right side of the door, and my bedside desk was between my bed (no _duh_) and the piano. My bed was pushed against the wall with the window over looking the street and my closet across from it.

The were four gentle taps on the door, like a rapture, before Sam stuck his head in. He took one look at me and a small smile covered his face. My eyes met his and I instantly looked back to the roof. _I should tell him. Why can't I tell him? _

"Iggy said you weren't feeling well."

"Just needed some hot water." I muttered, rolling my back to him. I felt his weight on the bed as his hand cupped my cheek and turned my face towards him. His eyes stared down into mine.

"What's wrong?"

_Crap. _"I'm just tired of shit happening at school, stressed. I haven't seen Chevy in a week, Budz is still with Anne and Phil. I'm just out of sorts, I guess."

"It's ok."

"No, it's not." I whispered, my gaze incredulous as I turned my body towards him. Sam dipped his head so he was an inch away from my face and held my face in both of his hands.

"I'm going to make sure everything is ok."

Then, his lips gently grazed mine. I realised how long it had been since I had kissed Sam. Almost by instinct, my hand found the back of his neck, keeping his lips on mine. His weight fell onto me pushing me back onto the mattress. If I had been in the right state of mind, I would have stopped it. But I wasn't, and I didn't.

The kiss deepened, our tongues fought for dominance. And suddenly, I was having an out of body experience. Some girl was kissing Sam, not me. A girl who lied, and a girl who was in love with someone else. This girl wasn't me. Who was she? Why was she with him? He deserved much better. I watched as this girl lifted Sam's shirt over his head.

I glimpsed at her face as Sam shifted her singlet over her head. She looked innocent, and I knew she was anything but. She lied to him. This girl did not deserve Sam. She was terrible.

As quick as the out of body experience started, it ended. I was yanked into the situation, and seeing what I saw, I ended the kiss by pushing Sam off me. Tears started to trail down my face.

"I'm so sorry, S-Sam." I cried, burying my face in a pillow.

After Sam convinced me to come downstairs and at least socialise, I had a good laugh with Nudge and Angel. They knew something was up, but didn't press it.

When I offered to go get drinks, thoughts ran through my mind.

Why did Fang do this? Why did he make me fall for him? I should be in love with Sam. Nudge had everything sorted.

God, I hate my life.


	7. For Those About To Rock We Salute You

**Lemme just say something. I'm not HAPPY with the amount of reviews I'm getting. BUT. Thank you for those three who wished me a Happy Birthday. It convinced me to update.**

**We see some action here :D**

**_For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) by AC/DC_ – just because it suits this chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER.**

**Enjoy... ;)**

_Slam!_

"30, love."

I bounced the ball to the ground, watching it come back to my hand and then wiped the sweat off my face with my wristband. Looking at the girl in front of me, I threw the ball high in the air. I followed it with my eyes and raised my racket slowly. _Slam!_

The ball travelled diagonally across the court, straight pass the racket of Melissa Goodburn.

"40, love."

I breathed in deeply. Representing my school in state sports put a very heavy load on my shoulder. Tennis was our school sport, along with soccer. I'd practice tennis every Wednesday at school, and then every Sunday. Not enough, but I was still good enough to get to states. Either that, or these people didn't play that well. If I won this, which it looked like I would, I was going to kick up my training. I'd always loved tennis, and that was why I left swimming behind. I mean, I still taught it, but I didn't swim for sports anymore. Sam never understood – I was the best swimmer in our school back in 2007.

It was the Monday after 'eventful' Saturday, and all of Grade 12 was here to watch me. The good thing about that was that they missed out on the second half of school. But for me, the pressure was almost too much to handle.

_Slam!_

The ball whizzed over the net, bouncing straight into the corner pocket. Melissa hit it back, straight down the middle and than ran up court. I slanted my racket as I ran to hit the ball, and it volleyed over the net. I could see in Melissa's movements that she meant to slam before she did. I tensed and ran to the left, my voice ringing out as I slammed the racket, backhand style, into the ball. It moved straight past Melissa's stunned body.

"Game, set and match; Ride."

Cheers ran through out the crowd as a smile crossed my face. I'd won. "Woot!" My ecstatic voice could be heard over the cheers. I walked to the net and shared a look with Melissa. She congratulated me before shaking hands with the umpire and exiting the court with her belongings.

I thanked the umpire and then waved to Iggy and the guys before moving off court as well. I walked to the shower room and washed myself down, shaking my hair out of its messy pony tail. Once out, I pulled on a black Invader Zim top, grey skinny jeans and some colourful Zoo York shoes. I left my hair, which reached down to the middle of my back in a mess of waves, and quickly sorted out my bangs before stuffing my towel in the duffle bag.

Music suddenly blared from my phone. I looked at the screen. Fang was calling me. I locked my jaw and was about to answer when my senses pricked - I was on high alert, but for what I didn't know.

A creak in the room made me freeze. I declined the call to stop the noise and moved behind some lockers. I looked around the corner and saw a man standing right there, staring at me with a grin on his face. He looked... supermodel gorgeous.

"'Ello, pretty." He laughed, locking a hand around my throat. I choked as he pushed me back against the wall. His breath reeked of meat. I started clawing at his hand, but his voice stopped me. "Don't worry, we won't hurt a hair on your pretty little head. Check her bag."

My eyes widened when he said 'we' and I saw another man who looked breathtakingly supermodel like. He went through my bag, pulling out clothing and checking them for... I don't know what. "Nothing 'ere, dude."

The first man looked at me with a sickening smile on his face. "I take that last comment back."

The second man slipped a knife out from the bottom of his shoe. Then he moved towards me. I spluttered and struggled, managing to kick the one who was holding me. Tweedledee stumbled back into Tweedledum, and I ran past them. I managed to get two metres away when I tripped over something, crashing to the floor. Tweedledum straddled me before I could move. I hit him where the sun don't shine and earned a slap, my head snapping to the side.

The knife moved to rest just under my jaw, and I flinched when he began to speak. "That a hickey? God, looks like she's getting some, too."

"Screw you." I spat, my hands above my head where Tweedledum was holding them.

"You know, I'd be enjoying this position if we weren't here for a job."

The knife moved to my hand, and I hissed as the knife cut the skin from the base of my pinky to the base of my thumb.

"What the hell?"

The breath hitched in my throat as Fang's voice rang out. There was a rustling noise and a sound of skin hitting skin before Tweedledee was on the floor next to me, blood gushing out of his nose. Tweedledum jumped off me and focused solely on Fang. I noticed Tweedledee getting up and sat up kicking my foot into Tweedledee's temple, knocking him out.

"Fang, don't!" I said as I hopped up, the swishing of the blade attracting my attention. I watched as Tweedledum moved towards Fang, slashing here and there. Fang tensed his body and then moved into a stance, following through with a round-house kick. The knife flew out of Tweedledum's hand, and Fang threw an uppercut. Tweedledum flew back, head connecting with the ground.

My eyes locked with Fang and we stood staring at each other for what seemed like hours, but was probably just five seconds. He grabbed my bag off the bench and stuffed my phone in his pocket while grabbing my arm and rushing me out of the room.

When we were clear, Fang stopped running and led the way to the car park. As we got there, we only just noticed the bus heading off. This time, I pulled him to my car. He pushed me inside the passenger seat and circled the car so he was in the drivers side. I gave him the keys without talking and got some tissues out of the glove compartment to clean the blood with.

We were on the highway in a couple of minutes, driving towards my home. I noticed his knuckles tight on the steering wheel and glanced at Fang's face which was stone cold. "Fang? You okay?"

Fang hit the brakes, moving across lanes to get to a rest bay. Once we had stopped, he jumped out and slammed the door shut. I frowned as he walked off, stopping right at the edge of the paved footpath.

I hopped out and went after him, frowning. Before I even reached him, he said, "You know how fucking scared I was?"

"Fang-"

He turned on me, his eyes burning. "No, Max, you don't. Because although you are the most confusing and frustrating person I know, you are probably the only person who knows who I really am. You understand me, and I don't have to keep secrets from you. What do you think that looked like to me in there?"

Realisation flickered in my head and my eyes found the ground.

"You are the _only _person I care about in my fucked up excuse for a life. I can't lose you, Max."

"That's why you're so open with me?" I raised my eyes to look at him as he nodded. "But... why now? Why when everything is just perfect?"

"It's not my fault I fell for you when I did." Fang said, turning around to walk back to the car and leaning on the hood. I walked over to him and sat next to him, staring at the setting sun. "Half of me wanted to kill those fucking pigs for even touching you. The other half wanted to protect you."

"Thanks."

Fang stayed silent until we could no longer see the sun. "Let me see your hand." I stretched my hand out to him and felt tingles run up my arm when he traced the cut with his finger. "It's not too deep, which is good, but it will hurt for a while."

Fang took his hand back and slipped his top off, revealing a white wife beater. He took that off as well, and I caught myself staring at his scars. They seemed old and I couldn't help but run my hand over them again. I almost grinned when Fang stiffened, but I ignored him.

"How long ago?"

I felt Fang relax, but he still seemed uncomfortable. "When I was 6."

I gave him an even look before watching him slip his top back on. With the white wife beater, he simply tied it around my hand and hopped back into the car. I stayed still for a minute. Fang... he wasn't acting the way I was used to him acting. Something was different with him.

Hopping back into the car, I fiddled with the wife breaker, twisting it this way and that. Fang slapped my hand away, giving me a glare I easily read as _don't be stupid. _

Soon enough – thanks to my directions – we were pulling up the driveway. Iggy, Sam, Nudge and Angel ran out, Anne, Paul and Chevy on their heels. I grimaced and hopped out, greeted by a wave of questions, comments and congratulations.

"Where have you been?"

"That was an amazing match!"

"You should have seen your backhand stroke!"

"We are so proud of you!"

"ZOMG! You are amazing! You're, like, my idol, Max, I hope you know that!"

I pushed past them and crouched down in front of Chevy and scratched behind his ears. He sniffed my face as his doggy breath washed over me, and I smiled gently as the people around me quietened down.

"Max?" Sam said, bending down to look me in the eye. He took my injured hand and looked at it and then looked back at me. "What happened?"

My gaze focused on the floor. _You are the only person I care about, _Fang had said, _I can't lose you._

"Why's Nick in the car?" Sam asked, drawing my gaze back to him. "Did he hurt you?"

I stood abruptly. "No."

"What? Did this prick hurt you?" Iggy spat, eying Fang.

"Iggy-" I started. I stopped short when I realised it would do no good. Iggy stalked around the side of the car, opened the door and dragged Fang out by his collar. "Iggy!"

"James!" Anne's voice rang out, clear and firm. Iggy ignored it.

"You bastard!" Iggy shouted, shoving Fang back into the garage. Fang's face was impassive, Iggy's full of rage. "You fucking bastard!"

I found Sam staring at me with an unreadable look on his face. I was panicked. Iggy was going mental. No one was going to stop him. I watched in horror as Iggy threw a punch, hitting Fang square in the mouth. Fang's head hit the back of the garage and an infuriated look seeped into his face. He looked at Iggy and spat on the ground. It was the colour of blood.

"I didn't touch 'er," Fang hissed, whipping his mouth with the back of his hand. The cocky-ness had edged back into his voice. Iggy arched his arm back and swung again. But this time, Fang caught it mid air and twisted Iggy's arm behind his back. He pushed Iggy away from him and raised his chin, staring Iggy down. "I said, I didn't touch 'er."

"James!" This time, it was Paul's voice.

"Then how the hell did she get hurt?" Iggy yelled. I stepped backwards, my hands flying to my mouth as Iggy's uppercut threw Fang to the ground.

I snapped.

"IGGY!" My screech caught him off guard. I walked over to him and stood in front of Fang, pushing Iggy away. "Fang saved me! He didn't touch me!"

"Max? What's going on?" Anne asked, her hand clutching Paul's.

"I was attacked." I said, hearing Fang get up behind me.

Shocked gasps could be heard easily. Sam had that same unreadable look on his face, only his gaze was flicking between Fang and I. Had he figured it out yet?

"Honey!" Anne said, walking towards me with her arms stretched wide. I stepped back, almost into Fang. Anne stopped short, a weird look on her face. Then she walked slowly towards me and swept the hair out of my face. The bruise could be seen easily. Then her finger edged my chin up and her gaze locked on the finger marks around my neck. "Who did this to you?"

"I don't know." I said, almost inaudibly. "They went through my bag looking for something, and when they didn't find what they wanted they cut my hand."

Iggy, noticing his mistake, spoke up. "And Nick saved you?"

I nodded, stealing another glance at Sam. He looked sad. I walked over to him and held his hand, turning around to see Iggy walk towards Fang.

"I owe you an apology then. Thank you for saving Max." Iggy held his hand open and Fang shook it.

"Not soon enough." I heard him mutter. Apparently Sam did too, and he slipped his hand from mine.


	8. We Won't Back Down

**Hey guys! WOOOT! I'm on a roll! **

**Ok. So. Thanks to all that reviewed. A very special thank you too ANI DARKU (:**

**Fang is a little... OOC. Sorry about that. I think you see my real writing style here :D**

**THE SONG;**

**We Won't Back Down – Escape the Fate (SERIOUSLY GOOD SONG)**

**DISCLAIMER.**

**Chapter 8 - We Won't Back Down**

"Max, we need to talk about yesterday." Fang said, dragging me to the corner of the stage.

"No, we don't." I replied, trying to walk away. Fang caught my arm in his hand and pushed me back into to the stage wall. My eyes widened – not because I was hurt, but because I was surprised.

"Listen to me, Max." Fang snarled, his arm resting above my head, his other hand stuffed in his pocket and his eyes drilling into mine. "Yesterday, I meant everything that I said. And I saw what happened between you and Sam."

I opened my mouth to reply with a snide comment but nothing came. I shut my mouth and my gaze locked on the floor as I stuffed my hands into the back pockets of my shorts. "I talked with Sam once you left. I'm sorry, Fang, but I'm in love with him, not with you."

_Lies. _I was ready to walk off, but risked a glance in Fang's direction. His eyes were closed, but when they opened, they were boring straight into mine. "I don't believe you. And even if it was true, what makes you think I'm going to give up that easily?"

I sucked in a breath, not expecting his reply. I almost smiled. But then what happened last flashed in front of my eyes.

"_Max, we need to talk." Sam said, sinking down onto my bedroom floor._

_My butt found my bed as my legs fell out from under me. "What's up?"_

"_Fang." Sam said, looking directly into my eyes. My gaze flickered to the floor. "He likes you."_

"_I know."_

"_I love you, Max," Sam whispered. "I'm happy when you're happy. You're not happy with me."_

"_I am happy, Sam."_

"I quit!" I said loud enough that everyone heard. The play director, I never remembered her name, gasped as I pushed Fang past me and walked out of the auditorium. I couldn't face Fang, Sam and my friends when I couldn't figure myself out.

I ran to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face and neck, washing the concealer off. I stole a glance at my figure. My blond hair had darker highlights, and if I positioned my side bangs properly the bruise on my face couldn't be seen. I looked at what I was wearing **(A/N – Outfit on profile) **and sighed, running my fingers through my hair. It reached down to the middle of my back in waves.

We're gonna drown your ego  
You're the legend no one knows,  
You're an honest fake I know (You're an honest fake I know)  
So now I drown my pity  
In a pool of sorrow and shame  
Until the day I forget your name (day I forget your name)

My phone started vibrating as the ringtone blared. I snatched it out of my pocket, looking at Nudge's smiling face on my phone. My eyes closed briefly as I declined the call, stuffing my phone back into my pocket.

I walked out of the bathroom and saw two men, who could pass for supermodels, walking on the way to the auditorium. Shivers ran down my spine, an image of yesterday springing to my mind. I couldn't let them hurt anyone else. I pulled my top down to make sure my bra was visible and hope to God that the plan in my mind would work.

"Excuse me!" I called, smiling sweetly as the men turned around looking me over. "Can I help you?"

"Sure," The one on the right replied, walking away from the auditorium and closer to me. My breathing hitched. I couldn't believe I was doing this. "What's your name, miss?"

"Jade Lowe." I replied, picking out a name that seemed somewhat relevant to me – the one I was talking to had bright green eyes and was shorter then the other one.

"It's nice to meet you, Jade" The shorter one said. "I'm Pat and this is my partner, Kym."

"It's nice to meet you, too." I replied, forcing a smile onto my face.

"We're looking for Maximum and Igneous Ride and Angel Smith. Any idea where they may be?" Kym asked and I gave him a one over. He had dark blue eyes and shaggy brown hair. The thumping in my heart got a lot more consistent.

"I'm sorry, you just missed them. Practice-"

"Max!" Iggy's voice yelled and I flinched, noticing that Iggy was standing about 10 metres away. Both the men in front of me were startled, but before they could do anything, I slipped past them and ran, grabbing Iggy by the arm and pulling him with me. "What the-"

"Just run, idiot." I growled, feeling pursuit behind us. I turned the corner that entered the hallways of the school and ran up the closest stairway. Our school had 5 floors, each holding 14 classrooms and 3 sets of stairways – the main one which was on the left, the one in the middle, and the one on the right. The second floor conjoined with the auditorium and the music rooms. We were running along the conjoined path way which was about 100 metres in length. I knew this school back to front, I could use it to my advantage.

"Where too?"

"Take the main stairs and get to the level four, I'll meet you there and then we can take them on."

I heard his approval and then we broke off, Iggy going left as I went right. I was starting to breathe a bit more heavily as I ran to the far right staircase. Kym was behind me, and I heard him growling under his breath as I poured on more speed. I flew up the stairs two at a time and then got off on the fourth floor. I ran out onto the seniors hallway, about 400 metres long, and saw Iggy running towards me with Pat on his heels. I made a motion with my hand and Iggy nodded.

In the last 20 metres, I dived towards Iggy, my hands extended for him to grab. He caught my hands, and then using my motion, swung me around full circle. My feet connected with Pat's head and then Kym's and they fell unconscious to the floor. Iggy slowed to a stop and I found that my legs were wobbly under my weight as I stood on my own.

"Max?" Iggy questioned, looking down at me, his chest heaving as he breathed.

"They were looking for us. They look exactly like the guys who attacked me yesterday, but they're not. We need to warn the others. They were looking for Angel as well."

Iggy nodded and we left the men on the ground. We walked briskly, almost jogging, back down to the auditorium and everyone stopped as we entered, wide eyed and quick breathing.

"Angel, Nudge, Sam, Fang we need to go." Iggy said. I frowned when he said Fang's name, and so did Sam and Fang.

"Igneous, what's the meaning of this?"

"No time to explain!"

Soon the guys had their bags packed and we left, checking every corner as we walked towards the parking lot. I looked past the last corner and stopped short, pushing everyone behind the wall. Pat and Kym were walking towards a black SUV.

"What-" I slapped my hand over Fang's mouth and gave him a look, my hand lingering for longer then I wanted them to; it dropped slowly to my side once I realised my mistake. Pat and Kym didn't hear him, thank God, and Kym grabbed something out of his pocket – a recorder? They slipped into the car, but left the doors open. They then slipped out and walked back towards the school, locking the car behind them.

I made motions with my hand and unlocked my car, watching Iggy, Angel Nudge and Sam sprint to the car. I stopped Fang and gave him the keys. "Take us somewhere they won't look. We need somewhere we can talk."

Fang nodded and then ran to the car with me by his side. Iggy had snagged the front passenger seat and I plopped into the back, squished until Sam pulled me onto his lap. His kiss on my cheek surprised me. My eyes found Fang's in the rearview mirror.

I looked away and tried to ignore the tension in the car. That's when my phone blasted the ringtone again. I pulled it out of my pocket and answered.

"Hello?"

"Max! Where are you?" Anne said. I frowned. Maybe she was using a pay phone, her name hadn't flashed up on the screen.

"In the car, why?"

"Are any of your friends at school? Is Iggy with you?"

"Anne, what's wrong?"

"Answer the question, Max."

"Yes. They're with me. What the hell is wrong?" I asked. I noticed everyone's attention on me. My eyes found Fang's in the rear view mirror.

"The school. It's up in flames."

"What?" I yelled, Fang's eyes boring into mine. "Pull over."

He did as I said and I swung the door open, jumping out to see flames galore in the air. A cry escaped my lips and my phone slipped out of my hand as I covered my mouth. The school... _my _school was burning to the ground, grey smoke rising into the air. I heard another door open and footsteps behind me, instantly knew it was Fang. He put his hand to the small of my back and led me away from the car.

I turned around and looked over Fang's shoulder. Nudge was clinging to Iggy, tears rolling down her face. Angel was clinging to Sam, tears rolling down her face. Sam's eyes met with mine, and he turned so he didn't have to look at me. My eyes found Fang's again and his thumb wiped away a stray tear.

"Why us, Fang?" I whispered before sinking to the ground.

Fang knelt down next to me, staring as intensely into my eyes as possible. "I don't know Max, but whatever happens, I'm always going to be here for you." He stood up suddenly. "Up you get. You're Maximum Ride. You can tough this out."

I looked up at him, locking my jaw. He was right. I could pull myself together. I had to pull myself together. I had to save my friends. Standing up and giving Fang a quick hug, I walked back to the group.

"Listen up guys, I'm going to say this one time, and one time only." Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me. "We can _not _give up. We have to pull ourselves together. We have to be strong. We have to be _better. _These people don't play fair. Angel, Nudge, you remember those self defence courses we had a while back? I want you to spar with someone you know. Go to the gym, run on treadmills, swim."

Nudge and Angel nodded, wiping away the last tears. They started talking softly, setting up dates.

Iggy, Sam, Fang, I'm guessing you all know how to throw a decent punch. Learn how to build offence, learn how to blend moves together. Same as the girls, go to the gym. Train. Run a mile a day. We need to be ready for when they come next. We need to take them on, show them that we aren't just normal teenagers. Can you guys do that for me?"

They responded with a round of yeses and I nodded, already planning days in my head.


	9. Heartbreak Warfare

**Sorry, it's a short chapter. I know your all disappointed. Please don't send your mutated maggots after me, I don't like them :'(**

**Short, sweet, even a little sad. One step closer to finishing this story (:**

**Heartbreak Warfare – John Mayer**

**DISCLAIMER**

**Chapter 9 Heartbreak Warfare**

There's a beautiful spot about 10 minutes walk from our house. It was a lake that only Sam and I knew about, and I didn't plan on showing anyone else. After winter, when the leaves were getting there colour back, there was a tree to the side of the lake that bloomed with tiny white buds.

When I arrived there, little white buds were sprinkled all over the lake. It was a beautiful scene. I heard Sam before I saw him lowered onto the ground, holding my knees against my chest.

"Amazing, isn't it?" I asked, remembering the text he sent me; _meet me at our spot. Need to talk._

"Max-"

"I know," I breathed, keeping my gaze locked on the setting sun. "I was naïve to think different."

"Don't be. As you said, you still love me," He replied, sitting down next to me. "Just not enough."

"Just not enough," I whispered, my eyes drifting shut to avoid crying. I don't cry.

"Where does that leave us?" Sam asked after thirty minutes silence. The sun had disappeared behind the canopy of trees that surrounded the lake.

"You're still my best friend, you know."

"I know. I'm glad _that _hasn't changed between us. And you'll always know I love you. Always have, always will." We sat in silence for five minutes before Sam got up. He extended his hand and I took it gratefully as he hauled me to my feet. We started the walk back to the house.

Sam took my hand and stopped me, his light eyes gazing into mine. "One last kiss?"

I grinned warmly, nodding a yes.

His soft lips touched mine and I wound my hands into his hair. Images flashed before my eyes. _Sam and I laughing. Sam and I hugging. Sam and I having fun. Sam tripping over a tennis ball. Sam laughing at me as I threw a tantrum. Hearing Sam sing in the shower, and his face after I confronted him about it. _All of our memories faded into a box, opened for me to filter through when ever I felt the need. The kiss lasted for a sweet five seconds and then I drew back.

So, that was the end of Sam and I. The end of my first _ever _relationship with a guy. It hurt more then I expected it too.

We started walking and just as my house came into view, Sam surprised me. "So. About Fang..."

"Don't even go there," I warned, a smile creeping onto my face.


	10. Happiness

**A/N= I'M SO SORRY! This chapter has been SUCH a bitch to me. It didn't want to be written, and I had no better way to introduce Gazzy! Sorry!**

**On higher terms, IT'S CHAPTER 10! double figures! Sorry about the shortness, and it's not my best chapter either :L**

**Ok, so I'm rearranging the ages.**

**Max, Iggy, and Fang are 18.**

**Nudge, and Gazzy are 17**

**Angel is 15 (she's really smart, which is why she's a senior)**

"Max!" Iggy called.

I groaned and rolled out of bed, getting a satisfying _thud _from my shoulder hitting the floor. I got up and ran a brush through my hair, swearing at the occasional knot. Stumbled down the stairs looking into the kitchen at Iggy cooking. "What?"

Iggy angled his head towards the breakfast bar and my gaze locked with Fang's. My cheeks reddened a touch and Fang raised an eyebrow, eyeing my bra and boxers. "Got a problem?" I asked.

"Not at all. Just wondering if you wanted to go into town with me." He asked, smiling sweetly. I glowered at him and muttered something before turning to walk back up the stairs.

"Sorry about Max, she's not a morning person." I heard Iggy say and rolled my eyes. "You get used to it."

As soon as I was in my room, I collapsed on the bed face first. I hate when people wake me up. I hate when I don't get enough sleep. I hate mornings.

There was as small tap on the door and a shuffling of feet as someone came in. I guessed it was Fang. "Piss off."

"Morning to you too, princess."

"I didn't have a good sleep. Piss off."

"I know about you and Sam. He told me."

I moved my face to the side and cracked open an eyelid, eyes locking with Fang's. "And?"

Fang rolled his eyes and then poked my ribs. A startled noise escaped from my throat as I jumped, managing to roll off the bed and into the floor. My other eye fluttered open, and I stared at the wall before saying, "Ouch." That's when Fang started laughing.

I climbed my way back onto the bed and slammed my foot into Fang's chest before collapsing again. Fang had fallen onto the floor, but was still laughing. Before I could stop myself, I started laughing with him, looking at him over the side of the bed. I leant my head down to gently kiss him on the lips, and then got up.

Once I had found a shirt, I pulled it on and made my way downstairs, Fang following. There was a short knock on the front door, and Iggy left the kitchen as soon as I was downstairs. After fishing myself some bacon and eggs, I sat down on the chair in front of the T.V and flicked it on, Fang sitting next to me.

"So, about us..." Fang started, looking to me for help.

"We're together as soon as you take me out on a date." I said bluntly, chomping on the yummy bacon.

"Max!" a voice called, and then there was some shuffling before Nudge was in front of me with a boy by her side. "This is the Gasman. Don't ask about the name, you don't wanna know. I met him a while ago, and we've been secretly dating for 6 months. I didn't want to tell you, so I hid it. But I'm really happy with to be with him! I can't keep it from you anymore, the guilt's just tearing away at my insides, and you had to know. Plus Gazzy wanted to meet you. Apparently he and Iggy are a like. Like, really a like."

Nudge gulped in a large breath as my jaw dropped. The boy next to Nudge was about her age. He had blonde hair, really blue eyes, and was taller then Nudge by about half a head.

Iggy appeared behind them before coming to sit next to me. "Let me get this straight. You and this boy, Gazzy, have been dating. Secretly. For _6 months. _You're telling us now because?"

"I couldn't take his talk on bombs any longer!" Nudge yelled, then stomped towards the back yard.

I looked at Iggy to Gazzy, measuring both the looks on their faces. "No bomb making! I will not allow it!"

They both snickered, then ran out the front to, undoubtably, talk about bombs.


	11. Social Network Theme

**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter... :L**

**YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO _SOCIAL NETWORK THEME _WHILE READING THIS. IT FITS PERFECTLY.**

**DISCLAIMER.**

**Chapter 11 – Social Network Theme.**

Third Person P.O.V

Sam came over a little while after Nudge lost it at Gazzy. Max and Fang were talking about what to do for the rest of the day.

As Sam came in, Max's brightest smile appeared on her face. "Sam! Want to come to the cafe with Fang and I? Just to get some coffee?"

"I really can't-"

"I don't think you understand," Max whispered, pointing to Nudge who was sulking on the floor. "She is driving us crazy!"

"Max..." Sam said, smiling gently. He remembered what it was like to be with her in these types of situations.

This time, it was Fang who spoke. "Please."

Sam shared a look with Fang, then nodded and watched in amazement as Max practically bounded out the door. Sam frowned, looking back to Fang. "Not enough caffeine?"

Fang simply nodded, giving a pained look, and then walked after Max. Sam smiled, and as he walked past the feature wall, he stopped to stare at the group photo. When everything was the way it should've been.

With Max waiting impatiently in the car, and Fang in the drivers side, Sam got in the back and tuned out the useless chatter.

He missed the times when Max would get pissed, and he would kiss her. The times when Max and him had a laugh about anything. The times when Max held his hand when they were watching a movie. That night, where Max fell asleep on his lap and she was muttering away.

"Earth to Sam!" Max said, snapping her fingers in front of Sam's eyes. He nearly jumped, but suppressed the urge and looked clueless instead. "We're here."

Sam nodded, hopped out and dawdled to the shop.

They went in, paid for three coffees – take away – and ventured back outside. Max laughed at something Fang said. Sam smiled at Max laughing. She was his everything. Even if he couldn't have her, he was happy if she was.

That was when Sam saw the black SUV. The sliding door opened, revealing a good looking man with a single hand gun. He aimed it at Max.

Sam didn't think. He jumped in front of Max, and the exploding pain in his chest blocked out the exploding noise as the gun went off.

Slowly, Sam's grip on his coffee slackened. Max watched it fall, horror in her eyes. It fell to the ground, the warm liquid spilling over the pavement, much like the blood spilling from Sam's wound.

Max screamed and caught Sam, tears pouring down her face. Fang helped lay Sam down on the pavement, yelling for someone to ring the ambulance.

Red blood blossomed around his heart, his eyes already closed.

"Don't you die on me Sam! Don't you dare!" Max yelled, her tears splashing onto the pavement.

Later, she would remember the paramedics arriving and Fang pulling her back. Later, she would remember the SUV had long sped away. Later, she would remember collapsing next to Sam's spilt drink.

The only thing she could think of right now was that coffee falling. It was like life, really. Your coffee is always falling, counting down your years. When it hits the ground, your time is up.

Rather tragic. Yet, life it was.

**Questions;**

**Is Max still in the play?**

**No. Refer to the chapter where she says, 'I quit!'**


	12. Permanent

**Permanent – David Cook (LISTEN TO IT!)  
**

**Enjoy the sadness :L**

**DISCLAIMER**

I heard the phone ringing, and hopped slowly out of bed to answer it.

"Hello?" I answered groggily.

"Max!" Sam's mum, Teresa, said. She seemed to be... crying. "It's Sam, Max. His heart failed last night, and they have to do surgery on him today. He wanted you to come in before he went in."

I almost dropped the phone, but my hand tightened its grip instead. "I'm coming."

I got changed into simple sweatpants and hoodie before I made my way to my car. Quickly, I wrote a note that said I was needed at the hospital was left on the table.

Once I was at the hospital, I made my way to Sam's room, seeing every machine possible attached to him in some way. Sam was listening to his mum, but when she saw me, she gave us some time alone

"Hey," I muttered, sitting down on his bed. "You're an idiot, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." He sighed, looking up at me through pain filled eyes. I took his hand in mine and held on tight. "But, it's better me then you. As I said, the sock drawer always has a bag of luck. Or in this case, a bag of bad luck."

"Don't say that," I whispered, tears coming to my eyes. "People need you as much as they need me."

"If I don't make it," He started, and I tried to interrupt, but didn't get the chance. "If I don't make it, promise me that you won't blame this on yourself. Promise me that you'll have a happy life with Fang and that you won't dwell on me. I'll always love you, and I know that you'll love me, but it's not strong enough. I need to know one thing though."

"Anything." I replied as the nurses came in. They ushered me out of the room while they prep'd him.

As they moved him onto the guernsey to wheel him away, I walked along side the nurses wheeling him, listening to him ask the one thing before surgery.

"If you could, would you do it all again? The same way?"

"We have to go, Miss." The nurse said, taking him through the doors before I could even answer.

But that had me thinking.

Would I go through all of it again to be with Sam? Or would I do things differently?

I sat down in the waiting room, and put my head in my hands.

Why did we have to go there that day? Why did Sam have to save me? Why couldn't I be the one in the hospital bed?

I felt someone sit beside me and pull me into a warm embrace, and without looking, instantly knew it was Fang.

It took hours of me trying to come up with an answer when I heard the others arrive. They saw me cuddled into Fang and lapsed into a silence before whispers started.

* Line called Bob (: *

About 4 hours later, everyone was chattering like normal.

I was still comfortable in Fang's lap, but when I saw the doctor walk out and talk to Teresa, I could only focus on them.

And then everything from then on seemed to happen in slow motion.

Teresa put a shaking hand to her mouth as tears began to fall down her face. I slowly got up, and everyone's attention turned to me. Making my way stiffly to Teresa, I pulled her into a hug. She sobbed onto my shoulder as the doctor shook his head at me.

_He didn't make it. He's gone. _I thought.

My face turned into what I think probably looked innocent.

"I need to sit down." Teresa whispered as the doctor stood there awkwardly. She left, and I looked the doctor in the eye.

"Where is he?"

With the doctor showing the way to the room, I felt a bunch of nothing-ness inside of me. _What am I going to do?_

"Miss?" I looked up at the doctor before going to see my dead best friend. "Before he went under, he told me to tell you that he knew what your answer was. And that he was happy it was him and not you."

I blinked and thanked the doctor, slowly walking over to Sam. The paper-thin sheet was pulled up to the start of his shoulders. I shuddered, sitting down slightly on the bench. I gently moved a piece of hair back from his face, and cupped his cheek in my hand.

"You're an idiot, you know?" I whispered, looking over his perfect face. "I didn't need to be saved."

I could feel Fang's presence behind me, and answered by silence, I continued. "But that doesn't matter. Because you did what you did. And I couldn't have stopped you."

Another wave of silence passed over me, but I knew he would hear me. "I would, Sam. I'd do it all over again. Just to be with you. I took everything for granted. And I think you know that. But when that bullet hit you instead of me, everything kind of snapped into perspective. I prayed to God. I prayed to _Satan. _But they didn't hear me. I took you for granted, Sam. I thought I'd always have you. So my answer is yes. I would do it all again. Because a part of my heart will always love you.

"I know you're leaving me. I know you're going to a better place. You deserve more than me, Sam. You deserve more than this. And I hope you find it."

I leaned forward and kissed his forehead, and then got up and locked eyes with Fang. He looked impassive, but I knew he was hurting.

"I'm ok," I muttered, my knees giving out from under me. I reached the floor before Fang could catch me and tears started to spill from my eyes. "I'm ok. I'm ok. I'm ok. I'm not ok."

And then I broke down in Fang's arms.

**Ok. I tried to make Sam out as nice as possible so you guys would love him like Max did, and feel her pain when he passed. Please don't kill me?**


	13. Lightning Crashes

Chapter 14 – Lightning Crashes (Live)

I stuffed clothing after clothing in a single duffle bag, along with toiletries, shoes and other necessities. A bang came from the door and I jumped, tears falling off my chin in the process.

"Max! Don't do this! You can't just leave!" Iggy yelled.

I didn't respond. Zipping the bag up, I turned around and slung it over my shoulder, heading towards the window. I grabbed the car keys from the window pane and shoved the window open, throwing my bag to the ground next to my car.

I couldn't deal with this. Sam had _died _because of me. Sam was _gone. _I had to get away from here. By myself. Just to think. I climbed over the edge of the window and fell silently to the ground.

_FLASHBACK_

_I went to Sam's house as soon as possible, just to get my stuff, when something tweaked my mind. Sam had started saying something about a sock drawer and a bag of good luck as soon as we were going out. He never used it before, and he never used it when they weren't together._

_I bent down to the level of his sock drawer, and silently pulled it open. There, sitting right in the middle of the socks, was a box with 'Max' written on it. I slumped to the ground and slowly reached my hand in, pulling it out._

_It took all of my courage to flip the latch and open it up. And when I did, I found a single rose, photo, and letter. I knew the rose was instantly fake. The photo was of Sam and I holding hands and laughing. I smiled sadly at the memory. The tears welled up, but I refused to let them spill._

_Gingerly opening the letter, the breath vanished from my body._

'Dated; March 23rd, 2010.

Dear Max,

Because you have found this, I congratulate you. It took you bloody long enough!

There are only two things I can really say to you. I love you, and I'm sorry. Because you have found this, you know I am dead. I could tell you that you will live, or that you will be OK without me. But, we both know you won't. So, I'm sorry. But, the information I am going to give you will help you.

I got contacted the other day by an organisation called _Itex. _It is a company based in Death Valley, Colorado. You _need, _at all costs, to stay _away _from it. They are coming after you. They were the ones that killed me. By telling you this, I believe you won't be stupid and go after them. You need to run _from _them, not _to _them.

At the end of the school year, I want you and the group to go on a road trip up to New York City. And yes, I do know how long the trip it, but hopefully they won't catch you. Do _not, _and I will _repeat _it, do _not _go through Colorado. The last thing you want to do is give them hint that you're moving.

I'm sorry to put this all on you. But I know you will cope. I know you will.

It's a while to go to Christmas, but I gave your present to my mom to give to you. I know you'll love it.

I love you.

Sam.

P.S – The rose in the box is for you. My love will last as long as it does. I hope you understand.'

_I fingered the rose. It was... fake. That meant it would never die. I laughed out loud at Sam's wit and stupidity. It was the cheesiest, yet the best out of the whole box._

_I put the items back in the box and closed it, wiping away a stray tear._

_END OF FLASHBACK._

I snatched my bag up off the ground and unlocked the car, tossing it into the seat next to me. Switching the car on, I looked at the front door as it opened. Fang, Nudge, Angel, Gazzy and Iggy were standing there, looking at me with the same sad expression. None of them moved. I realised it was because Fang had his arm out.

Fang. I hadn't known him, again figuratively speaking, for as long as a month, and yet he seemed to understand me like no one else did. Silently, I thanked him.

Turning the car on, I reversed onto the road and sped off, not looking back.

I didn't know how long I was going to be gone. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't know what I was going to do.

But I was hell sure, that when I came back, things were going to be different for me.

I wasn't going to let them get to me.


	14. We Are Broken

**Okay. Guess what? I'm so close to finishing this story on my computer! WOOOOT! :D  
You guys hate me... probably... because of Max and Sam... and because the last chapters have been filler-ish... and this one is a touch filler-ish...and yeah... JUST BE HAPPY THAT I'M UPDATING... I've had 7 assessments due this week... and I've got 4 tests next week... don't hate... just love (h)  
**

**WE ARE BROKEN - PARAMORE**

**Disclaimer.**

I dragged my bag up the veranda, shaking out my wet hair. God knows I hate that Iggy.

Was I dirty? Yes. Was I tough? Yes. Did I kick major ass? Yes. But did I totally submit to the smell of proper steak? You betcha.

I knocked on the door, waiting silently as the rain pelted down.

"I got it!" Angel called. Angel? Why was she here?

I bit my lower lip and waited for Angel to open the door. When she did, a huge wave of relief and recognition washed over her features. "Max?"

"Hey, Ange." I said hoarsely. I knew I looked bad, but I felt better. I had learned some important things on my mini road trip. I looked down next to Ange and saw Chevy shaking out his coat. "Hey, boy!"

A sudden smile spread across Angel's face and then she was in my arms, squeezing the shit out of me. I wrapped an arm around Angel and used my other to move the hair away from Chevy's eyes. Noticing Iggy peek around the corner, I smiled gently at him.

"You back?" He asked quietly. Was I back in the game? Was I mentally prepared? So many meanings behind two simple words.

"I'm back." I replied. He smiled and an ecstatic '_wooooot' _ran out through the house.

* * *

*~Line called... Ken. (: ~*

* * *

"Max?"

"Hey, Fang."

"Max..." His voice came out as a whispered rush, like he was sighing. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know Fang, I just don't know." I replied, closing my eyes. "Can we meet somewhere?"

"Anywhere."

"Down at the boardwalk? I'll be waiting." I snapped my phone shut, swinging my legs. I was sitting on the edge of the boardwalk, my arms hanging over the bottom railing.

It must have been five minutes before a shadow loomed over me. I turned around and stood up, my eyes meeting Fang's impossibly dark ones. He searched my eyes, for anything really, and then pulled me towards him so he could hug me.

Fang didn't say anything, he just held me.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered.

"Not your fault. You've nothing to be sorry for," he replied. "We're all broken in some kind of way."


	15. Unbroken

**You guys are probably going to kill me. Or send a bunch of oompa lumpas after me. BUT. Contrary to what you think I gave up writing and uploading for lent, and then I had to get back into this story. Yes, I know it's short. But I did it and it's important, and now you have to read it and review. So buck up! (;**

**DISCLAIMER.**

**3 MONTHS LATER**

"Max! You ready?" Nudge called anxiously. "Let me see!"

I looked at myself in the mirror from all angles. The dress I was wearing was absolutely stunning. It was a beautifully adorned ball gown with a deep sweetheart neckline. There was a fitted bodice that had beaded black lace over the red satin for a contrasting effect and the waist was highlighted by a gathered band. The rest of the dress flowed out in plain red satin.

Gingerly opening the bathroom door, I found Nudge putting on the last of her accessories – a black Queen Elizabeth ring. Her dress, a strapless light green chiffon dress with a floral pattern and a flower belt using the same fabric. The dress brought out her skin tone well, it looked stunning on her. She was also wearing plain white pumps, and natural coloured make up.

"You look gorgeous, Nudge!" I exclaimed, smiling brightly.

"So do you! Now, come on, over here. I have the perfect make up idea for you and Fang is going to love it. I never asked you whether you got that ring from him. Where? When? How much? Don't worry you can answer that later. _Sit! _Now-"

"Nudge," I interrupted, sending her a look. "You can do my make-up and hair – not make my ears bleed."

"Fine," she laughed. I spun towards her in the chair and closed my eyes as she started doing my make-up.

Fang had finally taken me out on that fist date, about a week after I got back, and on our one month anniversary he'd gotten me this beautiful stirling silver ring – a promise ring, you could say. Needless to say, my gift to him had been a shark tooth necklace, cause God knows how much he loved those things. We'd been together since, and nothing had come close to pulling us apart. It was getting to the point of being a serious relationship.

As Nudge started tugging at my hair, I winced. Why had I agreed to this? Why, oh why!

"Done!" Nudge squealed, turning me around so I could look at myself in the mirror. I gasped, looking at this... stunner in the mirror. Dark eyeliner surrounded my eyes with a shimmery, bullet grey eye shadow, and natural coloured gloss covered my lips.

The end result of my hair from all the pulling and tugging was keeping all of my hair, apart from my bangs, back from my face. It was held just behind my ears in a curly mess. I _loved _it.

"Nudge!" I squealed, spinning around to look at her with a huge smile on my face. "Oh, thank you!"

I jumped up and hugged her, and she laughed as she hugged me back.

"So, your one and only true love," Nudge said, giggling like a giddy school girl. "is awaiting you downstairs."

I smiled, a _sorry _forming in my head as I thought about Sam for a split second. Looking at Nudge, I breathed out slowly and moved down the hall. Going down the stairs, the first thing I saw were Fang's midnight eyes, staring at me intently.

"Hey you," I whispered, stepping forward into Fang's embrace. "Looking as amazing as ever."

"Look at yourself," he whispered into my hair. "I don't even come close."

~.~.~.~.~

The rest of the night went so slowly. Fang and I danced. We laughed and shared jokes with Gazzy and Nudge. Iggy, who had invited some other girl, was sitting in the corner, watching everything with a look of success. Whatever he and Gazzy had planned, something was happening tonight.

At about half-past eleven, Iggy stood and grabbed the microphone. "Let's get everyone out of here! There's a show going on outside!"

I looked at Fang and laughed, putting my head on his shoulder as we both shuffled outside. "You have any idea what he's done?"

"You're going to love it," Fang whispered in my ear. I laughed again, but the breath left my lungs as there was a loud crack and an explosion of light.

"Fang!" My voice came worried, and I stared at his chest, waiting for the blood to start pooling. But it didn't.

"Just look," he whispered again, putting his hand under my chin to angle it upwards.

What met my eyes was amazing. Colours adorned the night sky, arousing more then a hundred "wow"s as the seniors watched fireworks explode.

"I thought-"

"I know," he placed his lips on my neck, right below my jaw-line. "I won't let anything happen to anyone. I promise you."

Turning, I found Fang's midnight black eyes staring down at me, the love showing so purely.

I reached up on my tip toes, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. He wrapped his arms around my waist, picking me up from the ground, carrying me towards his car.

Fang placed me on the backseat, slowly crawling on top of me, his lips grazing every part of my body. The removal of clothes came, slowly. Everything was slow; we were savouring the time we had together.

Skin against skin, warm body against warm body. Bodies shaking, loving touches. Lingering stares, soft gasps. Gentle caresses, measured kisses. Grasping hands, relieved pressure.

I needed this. It was sharing part of myself I had never shared with anyone else except him and Sam. He was my rock, he was the one that kept my world spinning. He picked up the pieces of my shattered heart after Sam's death. He made me feel like anything was possible, and that everything would be alright.

Fang was my soulmate.


	16. Hurricane

**It's a bit sad at the start, and then it gets better. I'm introducing my own main character, so brace yourselves. He's a touch slow .**

**Disclaimer. (:**

"Sam Mates once said to me, 'If I die with one true friend by my side, my life is fulfilled.' I know that if he were here today, he'd be proud of us all. Because despite all that we've been through these past 4 years together, we all have at least one true friend. One best friend. And I guess that's all you need to get you through high school.

"You see, I won't tell you today to "Dare to dream" or "Find your own vision" or even to "Strive for excellence," or any other cliché that's ever been said in a graduation speech. So this might not be your typical speech. I have no list of "Do's and Don'ts" for you. I don't have any funny stories about politicians or teachers. I don't have any jokes, nor do I have any interesting quotes from real famous people. And so you may be wondering. Why?

"Why? Because life is one big circle. I'm not sure if any of you believe in Karma, but I do. So the easiest thing for me to say to you guys, is do what you want to. If you want to go out and get trashed, then so be it. If that's really what you want to do with your life, then do it. But do what you love, because if you don't, you could miss out on so many opportunities.

"As many of you know, Sam Mates can't join us here today. But I welcome his parents, his out of school friends, and other relatives. Sam wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. He wanted to save lives, and he wanted to make a difference in medical research and history. He wanted nothing more then a happy family and a happy life. But that got taken away from him.

"I'm not sure if any of you know this, but a couple of days after Sam passed, I went on a little road trip to get away from here. And I discovered something. If I keep my head in the past and relive things with memories, I won't be able to go forward. I won't be able to achieve my dreams. Sam's in here," I tapped my chest for effect and continued. "and he won't be going anywhere anytime soon. So I know if I achieve my goals and dreams, Sam will be happy for me. If _you _achieve your dreams and goals, Sam will be happy for you.

"I know everyone of us in here has lost someone this year. It may be a grandma, a sibling, even a pet. But live your life like you know they would have wanted you to."

A burst of applause started, and I tried to smile as I looked out to Sam's family who had tear-filled eyes. Everyone seemed to have tear-filled eyes. I nodded and left the stage. My role was done.

**-Line-**

Nothing much happened after the ceremony.

Fang had told me that I had left him in tears, which was _big_. But I didn't think, after revising what I had said, it was that sad. Fang had said it wasn't what I had said. It was the meaning behind it. Right now, we were all packing for our trip. It was just hours after the ceremony, but the majority of us had already packed. I was alone in the house and had sorted multiple numbers of shorts, shirts, and under garments. Iggy was at Gazzy's, already packed.

Something suddenly pricked my senses. I lifted my head slowly and looked around my room. Nothing was in here. I hopped up slowly and edged towards my door. I could hear someone's ragged breathing, and concentrated. I slipped out of my room and moved down to the bottom of the stairs, dodging all of the squeaky ones.

Now, the person was only around the corner from me. I concentrated on a spot on the floor, not realising at first it was the persons shadow.

"...has to be here some where. How can they not... normal household..." the person kept muttering.

He came closer to me, and I decided to give him a surprise. His back was to me, so I snuck up behind him and said "Boo!"

He screamed and turned around, just as I slammed my foot into his chest. He flew back and landed on the one-seater couch, gripping the couches to stop him from falling off. I stood over him as he whimpered, looking up at me like a scared child.

"I mean no harm! I only came to deliver a message! It was supposed to be a note! Don't kill me!" He said. I had to raise an eyebrow and keep my jaw locked so I wouldn't burst out laughing.

"And that is?"

"They're coming for you! Trust no one!" He whispered, still looking up at me petrified.

And_ that_ was when I burst out laughing. The man in front of me frowned and said, "I am no one to be laughed at! I'm an important person from Coalition to Stop the Madness."

"Ok, ok," I laughed, trying to calm down. "What's your name, dude?"

"William Baker," He said triumphantly, with a British accent I only just noticed. I looked him over as my grin widened. He had red shaggy hair and vibrant blue eyes. He looked around 22. "Your guardian."

I laughed again. "Hang on a second." I picked the phone out of the cradle and eyed Willy boy as he tried to get up. "Sit and stay, Fire Crotch."

He frowned at the nickname I gave him and plopped back onto the couch. "Iggy, it's me. Get the rest of the guys. Meet at home. I have a visitor."

"I can just go..." Will started, but I glared at him and he trailed off. He looked around awkwardly. "This is a nice house you have."

And just as I went to turn around, I heard the door open and saw Fire Crotch make a break for it. He slid across the table, knocking the plates off in an ear shattering crash, and was almost at the open window before I grabbed the back of his neck, slamming him onto the bench.

"Max!" I heard Fang's worried voice yell and he raced in.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Willy kept saying, cursing louder as I twisted his arm behind his back to get a good grip on him.

"Coming!" I sang, and walked out to the people in the living room.

Watching me with an eyebrow slightly raised, Iggy shook his head and sat down in the spot Willy had just vacated. "So this is the visitor? Looks more like a hostage."

"Hey, it was Fire Crotch's idea to B & E, and then try an escape." I heard Nudge suck in a sharp breath and then tsk at my language.

"I would much prefer Will, thank you."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Angel trying to flee out the door. I was about to say something when Willy did instead. "Angel?"

She froze and looked over at us, smiling hesitantly. "Yeah?"

"I thought I recognised you."

Heads were snapping back and forth between Angel and Will. "You guys know each other?"

Angel said no as Willy said yes. She huffed and looked at me. "You can let him go. He's no threat."

"I knew that from the start." I muttered, getting a huff out of Will. I tightened the grip and he whimpered. "Just didn't want him to go anywhere, is all."

I shoved him forward onto the other couch and walked over to Fang, giving him a kiss before sitting at the foot of Iggy's chair. Fang sat next to me and held onto my hand, and Gazzy sat on one side of Willy, and Nudge the other side of Gazzy. Angel stayed standing.

"Explain." Iggy said, his arms folding in front of him.

Angel laughed nervously before making a run for it. Nudge was quicker and tackled Angel to the floor, then tossed her onto the seat beside Willy before going back to her spot.

"What is it with violence these days?" Willy asked.

"It's not violence," Fang said. "Just forceful ways."

Everyone but Angel and Willy cracked a smile.

"Willy. What were you looking for before I... made you sit down?"

"A pen. I was going to write a letter." 

"You didn't think of writing the letter before hand?" Gazzy asked incredulously. Willy frowned, and then realisation washed over his features. Then he slapped his head.

"I'm so stupid." He muttered.

"What were you going to write?" Iggy asked, but I answered before Willy could.

"I quote, 'They're coming for you! Trust no one!'"

Everyone but Angel stared at Willy. There was awkward silence for about 15 seconds.

"Care to explain?" Nudge asked, which was probably the shortest question she had asked.

"It was a job given to me. I was just supposed to give you the message. Do you have a bathroom?"

Iggy stood up and grabbed Willy by the arm and then, I suppose, lead him to the bathroom.

"Angel? What do you have to say about Will? How do you know him?" Fang asked. We all stared at Angel now.

"Will... he used to tutor me. Then I picked up my game and no longer needed him. I haven't seen him for three years. He's very... straight to the point. He doesn't lie, though."

"Max!" Iggy yelled. I looked over my shoulder. "He's gone."

"It's ok. Come back in here."

He sat back on the couch and I got Angel to repeat what she said to us. Silence lasted for about ten seconds before Nudge said, "Ok, I'll say it. What the hell."

I didn't notice the silence had seeped back in until I jumped up. "I've got it!" Five confused faces looked back at me. "Fang do you remember when those guys cut my hand?"

"Yeah," Fang replied, a dark look crossing his eyes.

"You got a good look at them, yeah?" Fang nodded, a frown forming on his face. "Well, Nudge, you said a couple of days ago you felt like you were being watched? And then you heard someone yell out, 'The madness cannot be stopped'?"

Nudge nodded in confirmation. "It was like they were following me to scare me off."

"Willy said that the organisation he came from was called Coalition to Stop the Madness. What if the guys that came after me and Nudge are the guys the Coalition to Stop the Madness are trying to beat down?"

Everyone nodded at me, thinking about how I was starting to piece things together. I breathed in deeply before telling them what helped me figure this out.

"When Sam and I started dating," I started softly. "he came up with a new quote that was like 'there's always a bag of good luck in the sock drawer'. He said that to me just before he died as well. And that ticked me off. So after I figured out that there was something for me in his sock drawer, I made my way over and went through it. And I found a box.

"In the box, there was a note describing how this organisation called _Itex _had rung him to threaten him, and after researching it a bit and calling some people, he figured out where they were. He knew that _Itex _was who the people coming after us worked for. And he told me they were in Colorado."

Silence filled the room again, and I wiped a stray tear from just under my eye. Fang gave me a look and I smiled sadly at him, but bit my lip.

"So, let me get this straight," Gazzy said, shooting me a quizzical look. "_Itex _and Coalition to Stop the Madness are two separate groups, and CSM is trying to stop _Itex _from whatever they are doing."

"Basically, yeah."

Iggy let out a whistle.

"So, Max, I was wondering where we were going." Angel stated. I raised an eyebrow, missing what she meant. "You know, for the road trip?"

"Oh." I said and Nudge giggled at the confused look on my face. "I was thinking about New York."

Nudge stopped giggling, and at the same time, all other noises stopped. I swore I could hear the crickets chirping outside. "Isn't that... a touch far?" Fang asked incredulously.

"Perfect distance actually. We get to go sight seeing, get to venture through the great ol' U. S of A, and spend some quality time together."

"How long are you planning this to last for?" Iggy asked.

"Well, if we spend a day or two in each capital, then I'm guessing it should take on average... two months."

"And are we going down and around or straight through?" Angel asked this time.

"Well, I wan't to avoid Colorado. So, I was thinking down and around, you know, through Texas and everything."

There was a second of silence before Gazzy yelled out, "_Yeeeehaw! Great balls of fire!_"

The thing that made it the funniest? The accent was spot on.


	17. New Divide

**OMG. Second last chapter. How do you guys feel about this? READ ON! Ps, you can kill me about the insane shortness of it later.**

**Disclaimer!**

"You guys ready?" I asked, looking in the rear-view mirror of our camper van. Fang was sitting next to me, map in one hand and iPod in the other.

"Let's go already!" Nudge yelled. "The sooner I'm out of this car and in the wild, the sooner I can see all those lovely animals! And the sooner I'll be away from these two trouble makers! It's terrible! All they're going to talk about it stupid freaking explosives and how to build them!"

There was dead silence as Nudge stopped ranting, and then a slow, "She did _not_... just say that."

I shared a look with Fang and shook my head. This was going to be a long car ride.

"Ok, I'm going to lay down the rules – especially while we are on the road," I said. I half turned in my seat to stair at the four of them in the back. "No fighting. No arguing. No bomb making. No excessive ranting. No wondering off in the night. No _making out with others around. _Nothing insane without my permission. We clear?"

"Yes boss." Iggy saluted me and I gave him a stern look.

"_Including _you, Iggy. And I think just because you're my brother, I'm going to be hared on you than anyone else."

He started to protest and the others broke out in laughter.

"Wanted dead or alive," I sang with Nudge. "When I walk these streets, a loaded six string on my back, I play for keeps, cause I might not make it back!"

I heard Fang try to stifle a laugh at my horrible and over dramatic singing attempt.

And then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The only car behind us sped up, nudging into the lane beside us. I looked out the window with a slight frown on my face and saw a male supermodel. I knew it was all over then. I knew they had found us. But I was the one that made the biggest mistake of all. I screamed, and then slammed on the brakes. I felt Fang grab for my hand. Hair whipped in front of my face, my whole body straining against the seatbelt. I heard Nudge's screams. The van flipped four times before stopping.

I'm not exactly sure what happened next. Smoke clouded every sense. Blood was streaming down my face. I realised I couldn't feel Fang's hand in mine, and then I felt unfamiliar hands grab my body and pull me from the wreckage. I struggled to open my eyes, and when I did, I found I was being dragged towards a car. I freaked.

My hand flung out, hitting the closest thing, and all I could hear was someone's breath rushing from their lungs. I stumbled back and tried to control my body. But I was going into shock. Somewhere between the next ten minutes, I somehow managed to fight off the supermodels, and make my way into the woods that surrounded the road.

Sometime later, when the sun was setting, I collapsed. My body completely shut down. All I could do was think. Think of Fang, and Iggy and Nudge and Angel and Gazzy. They hadn't been in the car when I woke up. But they had been in the car that was going to kidnap me.


	18. Born For This

**Well, fellow readers, thanks for sticking with the story. Just letting you know, in case you haven't figured out, this is the last chapter of 'Awakening' and the next story – yes, there WILL be a sequel – will be in the genre of Adventure and/or suspense. For the record, their will be another chapter after this one for the preview of the next book.**

**Oh, and as for the drugs they're talking about, Max will have a flash back in the next story that explains it all. (:  
**

**Disclaimer..**

"We have five, Sir." a teenage voice said.

The Creator turned around, giving his assistant a sickly sweet grin. "That's good."

"They posed some threat at the start, but once we were able to cause an 'accident', they were very easy to take. All but one, that is."

"Who was it?"

"The leader. Maximum Ride. She managed to slip through our fingers."

"How?"

"We're unsure, actually. It seemed as though the drugs didn't have any effect on her at first."

"So she was immune?"

"At first, yes. She took six of us down before managing to escape on foot into some dense forest. My co-workers suspect that the adrenaline coursing through her veins was strong enough to sub-due the drug for a certain amount of time. They also suspect that she's already been through the drug system. A traumatic past maybe."

"Was she injured?"

"Only the slightest. They were given strict orders not to fight back. She got a good whack to the stomach, and a good knee to the groin, but she is unscathed, as far as we know."

"I want you to track her down as soon as possible."

"Will do, Sir."

"Oh, and Tayte?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Congratulations. You proved me wrong. Before you bring Maximum in, you have permission to befriend her. Earn her trust, learn her secrets. As far as she knows, you've seen the whole thing and we're after you as well."

Tayte smiled. He nodded his head and walked out, ordering his people around already.

The Creator sat down in his chair and opened one of the many files on his desk.

_Name: Maximum Nikita Leslie Ride (Maximum Ride)_

_Age: 18_

_Height: 5 ft 10 inches (177.8 cm)_

_Weight: Approx. 110 pounds._

He flickered through the little information the organisation had about Maximum. Something sparked in his mind. He pressed the buzzer on my table, a grin forming on her face. Elise, her other assistant, came in with a clip board and pen. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"I want you to contact Jeb Batchelder. Get him to set up the instruments. Also, tell him that the DNA processing can commence. I want our subjects ready for preparation as soon as possible. And I want that new vile of 'Sweat' I created to be tested an one of our experiments. I may need it soon."


	19. Invincible

**HEY GUYS!**

**I hope you enjoyed the first instalment of `_Life As We Know It_` !**

**The next story, and YES, there is a next story, is called `_Invincible – A Life As We Know It Novel` ._**

**So, here is the blurb. I hope it leaves you wanting more.**

**I won't be posting until I have finished the entire story, but if you guys beg... I may budge. ;)**

Max has been through a lot in the past month. She's been chased after, her school has been burned down, and her ex-boyfriend/best-friend has been killed. All by an organisation called _Itex. _And _Itex _won't stop until they have Max. Losing skills every time one of her family is hurt permanently, though, will Max survive?It's not your family, your skills, or even how smart you are that makes you get through another day. It's your love for those around you, and your will to keep going. How long will Max take to figure it out? Faced with a new pair of limbs and lupine hybrids who are thirsty for her blood, Max has to be invincible to survive.


	20. IT'S UP! READ IT NOW!

**_It's up! The sequel to Awakening: A Life as We know It novel is now on FanFiction! You can find it every easily, just go to my profile, click on the link and read! Here's to the coming readers and reviewers!_**

**_Peace Out,  
Jace.  
_**


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